Just the Two of Us
by asorate
Summary: After returning from their recent spirit world vacation, Korra and Asami are ready to come out about their relationship, However, they don't necessarily get the reaction they hoped they would from all of their friends and family. How will their relationship grow with some of their loved ones not agreeing with it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

A deep blizzard bellowed across the Southern Water Tribe. Korra and Asami gingerly walked up to an old familiar igloo home while protecting their faces from the natural elements. Stopping short of the door Asami grabbed Korra's shoulder and whispered  
in her ear. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Korra looked uncertainly into Asami's eyes. "I don't think I'll ever be ready, but if we don't do this now I know I'll regret it." Korra took one last deep breath before opening the door and walking in. "Hello? Mom, dad are you here?"

Senna was in the main part of the house setting a tray of food down on the table; from the look of her soot covered clothes she must have just finished cooking. After wiping the sweat from her brow Senna looked up to see the two women standing in the  
doorway, and her face instantly filled with joy "Korra!" The ecstatic mother ran directly to her daughter, and wrapped her arms tightly around the young girl's neck. "Finally you've come home. After all that terrible mess with the Earth Empire, we  
thought it would be months before we saw you again."

The excited reception warmed Korra's heart making her feel a little more comfortable about the situation. "Well considering how stressful that whole ordeal was, we decided we needed to take time for a vacation. We just flew in ahead of the storm a little  
while ago." Korra was relieved to see her mother so happy; it may help when she delivers her special news later on. Right as she finished contemplating on her eminent confession, Korra noticed her mother now eyeing up the tall raven-haired girl standing  
behind her. At this Korra immediately snapped back into reality, and introduced her. "I'm sorry mom, you remember Asami Sato right?"

Senna appeared to be uncertain of whether she knew the woman in front of her or not, however, she eventually gave in and accepted what her daughter said. "Yea sure, I think we've been acquaintedonce or twice."

A subtle shuffling echoed from an adjoining room, soon Tonraq came walking through the doorway wearing the same exuberant grin as his wife. He immediately saw Korra, and dashed forward constrictingher in a bear hug. "It's great to have you back."  
As Tonraq let go, he slowly took a seat while looking around. "Where's your other friends? The two brothers, Mako and Bolin I believe theirnames were."

"They're not with us. You see it's only me and Asami and ugh..." Asami then stepped next to Korra and reached for her hand to give her support. The warmth of the young inventor's palm against her own made all of Korra's anxieties begin to fade away. She  
turned to the young girl beside her and shined a loving and thankful smile. Then she returned her gaze to her two parents who were now thoroughly confused about what was happening in front of them. "Mom, dad; Asami and I are together. I told you that  
we took time for a vacation, but the thing is we just got back from it. We went on a trip together to the spirit world, and the two of us sort of connected." A slight blush bloomed on Asami's cheeks as her girlfriend continued. "I know it's not a  
traditional Southern Water Tribe relationship, but we were both hoping that you could still give us your blessing."

Both Tonraq and Senna were speechless, their faces had become blank, and neither of them showed any sign of emotion. The lack of a reaction started to make Korra worry, the comfort of Asami's grasp was beginning to disappear. That's when Tonraq stood  
up from his seat and slowly walked up to his daughter and newly professed girlfriend. "I remember holding you when you were no bigger than the length of my forearm, thinking to myself, this is my little girl. Some day she's going to meet a boy, fall  
in love, and end up having children of her own." Tears threatened to fall from Korra's eyes as she listened intently to her father's words. "However, that dream changed when your mother and I found out you were the Avatar. At such a young age you  
had an enormous responsibility thrust upon your shoulders, even if you didn't know it yet. We thought you'd never get the chance to be normal, but you found a way to set your own path in the world. Through time you learned to choose between good and  
bad decisions, and eventually you became a very mature young lady."

Korra briefly perked up at the mention of how much she had matured. "Thank you dad. You don't know how much this..."

However, Tonraq held his hand outto interrupt his daughter. "Don't misunderstand me. Through my beliefs I cannot and will not accept your choice as being right, but as your father I will honor it."

A shaky twinge was growing in Korra's voice."What does that mean?"

Tonraq did not falter at the sight of his daughter's fear. "That means I'm not going to force you to change your decision. You are grown now, and no longer the age where it is appropriate for me to forbid you from doing something. However, because you  
are my daughter, I am going to beg you to reconsider."

"And what if she doesn't" Asami spoke up slightly irritated at how Tonraq was talking to Korra.

"Than I'm going to have to ask the both of you to leave." The tone of Tonraq's voice was firmer and much colder than Korra had ever heard before.

Korra couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No, please don't do this. I love you, don't push me away." She tried to extend a hand up to her father, but Tonraq stepped backwards out of her reach. A tear was quickly forming in Korra's heart. She looked  
over to her mother and said "Mom please help, don't let dad put a distance between us."

"You put that distance there yourself" Senna called back to her. The phrase shot a dagger into Korra's heart. The woman who had only moments ago welcomed her with open arms was now ready to send her out the door. "Who are you? Your not the daughter I  
raised. I don't even recognize you anymore. Until you fix yourself, we don't want to have anything to do with you."

The tears Korra tried desperately to hold back were now streaming down her face. Without another word she turned and ran out of the igloo home. Asami shot both of Korra's parents an angry disapproving glare, and quickly chased after her girlfriend. The  
sun had already started to set behind the storm clouds, but Asami could still faintly see Korra in the distance. Without a moment's hesitation Asami kicked the snow beneath her, and dashed straight for her. The wind violently blowed against the young  
CEO trying to stop her from moving forward. Every step felt like a struggle. Soon the tiny image of Korra was beginning to disappear in the distance, but Asami kept pushing. Korra had been hurt, and she needed to be there for her. However, the small  
blizzard buffeting against her skin was not making her objective any easier. Suddenly a giant polar bear dog appeared next to Asami. "Naga? Am I glad to see you. Come on, Korra ran off and we need to get her." Naga lowered herself so Asami could climb  
on top of her, and then immediately bounded deeper into the storm.

Naga moved far more smoothly through the raging snow; to Asami it felt like she wasn't even touching the ground. After about a minute of traversing Asami caught sight of Korra once again, and she noticed that her girlfriend was kneeling in the snow with  
her hands covering her face. Asami didn't wait for Naga to slow down, she swiftly jumped off the polar bear dog's back and ran straight to Korra. Not caring about how cold it may be on her legs, Asami slid on her knees next to Korra and wrapped her  
in a strong embrace. "Korra, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I never thought your parents would say anything like that." Although she tried to speak, Korra's sobs made it to painful to utter a word. Asami gently rubbed the back of the pained woman  
in her arms, and soothingly tried to calm her down. "Come on sweetheart let's go somewhere warm." Throwing Korra's arm over her shoulder, Asami helped the grief stricken Avatar to her feet, and the two of them walked back over to Naga who was now  
a short distance away. For a brief moment Asami thought about going back to Korra's place, but after what transpired she didn't think she could stand being in the same room as her parents. Naga eventually led them into town where Asami spotted a suitable  
inn to stay for the night. She didn't pay too much attention to the price of the room when she spoke to the inn keeper, Asami simply dropped several yuan coins on the counter and asked for the first available room.

When the two women entered what was to be there shelter for the night, Korra immediately collapsed onto the bed and resumed her earlier weeping. Asami joined her and sat next to Korra on the bed. Once again she started making circular motions on the small  
of her girlfriend's back. Asami had never seen Korra break down this badly. Even when she had been confined to a wheelchair for several months Korra had kept it together for the most part, at least on the outside. Korra had always tried to appear  
strong in front of Asami, but now it seemed like her walls were rapidly crumbling down and all the built up emotion was flooding out. After several minutes Korra's crying subsided enough to where she could finally speak. "They don't love me anymore."

"Don't say that; of course they love you. They're just confused right now. I've witnessed your parents risk everything for your well being in the past. I'm sure if you give them enough time they'll come around." Asami hoped what she was saying was right.  
As much as she hated seeing Korra in pain, she hated the idea of giving her false hope even more.

Rolling over onto her back, Korra showed the puffiness and irritated redness of her eyes. "My mom said she didn't recognize me, that I needed to be fixed."

"She was wrong to say that Korra. You don't need to be fixed, because there is nothing about you that is broken." At that moment Asami reached for both of Korra's arms and pulled her upright so that they sat face to face. "Look at me. I'm not going to  
lie, this Is going to hurt for awhile. Like I said, I'm sure they're eventually going to come around. However, until then you need to let their opinions fall to the wayside. I know you were hoping for their approval, but you have to understand that  
they were raised with a different mindset than us. It will take some time for them to get used to the idea. So please don't beat yourself up about this. You are a strong beautiful woman, and you shouldn't let others, even your parents, determine what  
makes you happy."

Kora was silent for a moment before she leaned in to kiss Asami directly on the lips. "I love you so much."

A deep blush appeared on Asami's face, and she looked at Korra with surprise in her eyes. "You love me?"

Korra realized what she had just confessed to, and her face turned a light shade of pink as well. But she didn't back down from her statement, she simply nodded wearing a shy smile. Suddenly Asami grabbed both sides of Korra's face and returned the kiss,  
she then moved her head next to Korra's ear to whisper. "I love you to. No matter what happens or how our family and friends react, I will always be right next to you, holding your hand, and taking every criticism and judgment that they can dish out."  
Asami pulled away, and this time a small tear was running down her cheek. "Korra I will gladly face down the entire world if it meant being with you."

That last sentiment made Korra giggle as she wiped the tear from Asami's face with her sleeve. "You're starting to sound like me Asami, threatening to beat everyone up."

"Sometimes you have to fight for the ones you care about. My favorite Avatar taught me that."

Korra felt tears forming in her eyes again, but this time it was due to how much compassion she was receiving from Asami. They had only officially started dating a week prior, but it felt like they had been together for so much longer. Korra was slowly  
but surely realizing how much Asami truly was there for her. Even at her lowest point, Asami would crawl down and give Korra her support. She would let her tears flow, but she didn't want Asami to think it was because she was hurting again. So she  
turned to look at a very crude Water Tribe painting on the wall, and put on her most smart alec voice. "Yea I was kind of fond of Kyoshi too."

A smile broke on Asami's face, not expecting a joke out of her girlfriend so soon. "There's that wicked sense of humor of yours, I thought I'd never get to hear it again." Asami then rubbed the back of her hand against Korra's cheek; sneakily using her  
thumb to get the little water droplets hanging at the edge of Korra's eye that she must of thought Asami didn't see. "Now sweetheart why don't you lay down and get some rest. I'm going to venture through the town to find some food to bring back."

Just as Asami got up from the bed, Korra reached for her hand. Asami looked back to her concerned, and noticed that Korra's grief stricken face had returned. "Would you mind staying with me a little while longer? I really don't want to be alone right  
now."

The inside of Asami's heart dropped. She immediately sat back down on the bed, and laid Korra's head onto her lap. "Of course I will. I'll stay as long as you need me."

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading so far. I realize Tonraq and Senna acting this way may not seem too realistic, but the idea of parents disowning their children is not a far fetched concept. My main purpose in this story is to show that not everyone  
is going to be fine with Korra and Asami's relationship. Now don't get me wrong there are going to be friends that see nothing wrong with it, but I'm not going to give away who they are. Some may surprise you, some may not. Until further chapters  
review, comment, critique, ask questions. All I hope is that you enjoyed it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Author's Notes: Here you go guys. I want to thank all who have followed, favorited, and reviewed so far. I appreciated the warm reaction the first chapter received. Hopefully you'll like the rest just as much. Fair warning this particular chapter contains several moments of fluff. I thought they were after the drama of the last chapter. Enjoy.

The snow had stopped falling, but the clouds hanging overhead were still grey. Yet as Asami turned from the window overlooking the town-like village of Harbor City to see Korra heavily asleep in bed, the young CEO could not think of a more happy scene. Korra was wrapped tightly in bed covers, one of her legs hung off the side while her face leaned flush against the headrest. Asami smiled at how cute she thought her girlfriend looked bunched up like that. She slowly walked towards the edge of the bed, and gently poked her in the shoulder. "Hey Korra wake up, you need to get ready."

A painful groan echoed from the tired Avatar as she groggily stretched her limbs and began to sit up. Her hair was disheveled, and she sleepily blinked her eyes at Asami as though she were half asleep. "Get ready? For what? Are we going somewhere?"

"In a sense." Asami plopped next to Korra on the bed, and started patting down the loose strands of hair on her head. "You are going to show me all the hot spots around the Southern Water Tribe."

At the mention of that request Korra fully woke up. "What? I thought you would want to leave as soon as possible, and get back to the warmth in Republic City."

"Well as appealing as that sounds, it may not be a possibility right now. Due to the blizzard last night, the plane we flew in on is currently grounded."

"You're kidding, but wasn't that supposed to be one of your personal Sato Jets?" The voice Korra used held a slight twinge of playful mockery.

However, Asami remained unfazed and retorted "Yes, but the captain said we can't take off while there is still a severe weather advisory in effect. You see Korra, even people under my pay role have to follow the rules."

"Sure." This time Korra implemented a little sarcasm. She wanted to get under Asami's skin so badly, but the raven black-haired vixen wasn't making it easy. "How do I know you're not just using me as your glorified tour guide around the village?"

Asami leaned in, planted a kiss in the center of Korra's forehead, and peered down into her crystal blue eyes. "You don't. I guess your just gonna have to trust me."

Not missing a beat Korra grabbed the back of Asami's head and pulled her in for a true kiss. The connection of their lips instantly chased away any lingering chill on the two women's bodies as they instantly filled with an intense warmth that ran from the peak of their toes to the tops of their cheeks. When they finally parted Korra placed her forehead against Asami's and whispered sweetly "You should know by now that I more than just trust you."

A deep grin grew on Asami's face. "I'm gonna grab my jacket." She jumped off the bed, and pulled a black jacket with red trims off a chair in the corner. As she was putting it on she turned her head slightly to look back at Korra and said "By the way, I forgot to mention back in the Spirit World, you snore in your sleep."

Korra's jaw dropped and her face became several shades pinker. "I what? Asami I didn't know I..."

Suddenly Asami pounced on top of Korra pinning both her arms down onto the bed. She gave a quick kiss on the lips to her deeply flustered girlfriend, and giggled when she began to squirm underneath her. "I'm kidding Korra. You sleep like a log; a log that hugs all the covers, but a log none the less."

A sigh of relief escaped Korra's lips, the last thing she wanted was to do something embarrassing in front of Asami. "Are you gonna lay on top of me all day, or are we gonna do some of the sightseeing you were so giddy about."

Crawling off of Korra, Asami went in front of a mirror to fix the hair she had messed up with her horseplay. "Of course sweetheart, we can go as soon as you put your pants on." Realization hit the young Avatar as she felt a cool breeze blow past her legs. She looked down to notice that the bed covers had fallen to the floor, and the only thing keeping her modesty was a small pair of lower undergarments. That's when Korra's face became even redder. Scrambling to find her pants Korra stood up too quickly, tripped over the covers laying at her feet, and fell face first to the floor. Asami instantly dropped what she was doing and slid to her knees to check on her. "Oh no, are you ok? I'm sorry Korra, you seemed to be really hot in bed last night so I slipped your pants off. I didn't mean anything by it."

Flipping onto her back Korra saw the concerned look in Asami's eyes, and gave yet another sigh. "It's alright. Can you just hand them to me so we can get going." After several minutes of preparation, Korra and Asami exited their rented room and headed downstairs to the lobby. They approached the inn keeper and told him that they may be returning later that nig and asked to keep the room on reserve for them. Once their affairs were set, the two women went out the door to start their day. When Korra and Asami stepped outside Naga bounded right up to them. "Hey girl, I hope you weren't too cold outside." Naga nudged her snout against Korra's face to show affection to her longtime partner. "Aww, I missed you too. Listen I'm taking Asami to see some of the cool places around the village. Do you want to join us?" In response the lovable polar bear dog proceeded to lick Korra repeatedly. "Haha, alright I'll take that as a yes." Korra jumped onto Naga's back with the assistance of airbending, then turned to Asami and summoned a small twister that levitated her onto Naga as well.

The look on Asami's face was full of surprise and amazement. "You know you could have simply made Naga kneel down for me. That's how I got to ride her last night."

"But where's the fun in that? Your girlfriend is the Avatar, she should be allowed to spoil you with her limitless control of the elements."

Asami wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist, and then rested her head on Korra's shoulder. "Well if the Avatar feels so obliged to treat me this way, I guess I can't really stop her."

"That's my girl, now let's explore the great Southern Water Tribe." The first stop on their adventure was the Fire Navy shipwreck to the west of the village. Korra told the story of how Avatar Aang and Katara explored the inner workings of the cruiser when they were younger, and also how Aang accidentally set off a booby trap flare that alerted a young Prince Zuko to their location. Next they traveled a small distance to the north to reach a high snow hill that overlooked the ocean. Asami thought it was such a calming view, and she snuggled even closer to Korra so they could enjoy the moment together. "I'm sorry Asami."

Confused Asami let go of Korra and looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean you're sorry? I'm loving our little sightseeing tour so far."

"That's the thing I only knew of these two places." A frown grew on Korra's face, and she lowered her head. "Being locked in the White Lotus compound, I didn't get to see very much around here. I probably know more about Republic City than I do my own home. The only time I got to go out was to let Naga run, or to see my paren..." Korra's voice cut off, and Asami quickly put a hand on her shoulder. Korra spoke up again, and her tone was low and somber. "You know I almost forgot. I guess I was having so much fun with you this morning that what happened must have slipped my mind."

Asami could feel the pain radiating from Korra. She did not like writing people off, even her own father when he worked for the Equalists, but she couldn't help but hate Tonraq and Senna for what they are putting Korra through. Asami wanted to hold onto the girl sitting in front of her and make her feel better, but she did enough of that last night. What Korra needs now is someone to support her, and make her feel special. "How about you take me to the compound."

"What?" Korra looked back up at Asami not understanding why Asami would want to go to a dull place like that.

"I just realized you never took me to see where you grew up."

Confused, Korra attempted to ask "But yesterday I..."

"Korra you didn't grow up there. That's just where your parents lived while you were stuck in the compound." Asami flashed a smug grin at Korra, and waited for a response.

Finally understanding what her girlfriend was implying Korra's smile returned, and she firmly nodded. "Ok. It's not that far away from here."

With a new vigor the two women continued on. They traversed across a great flat expanse of snow and ice before tall concrete walls came into view in the distance. As they got near a guard sitting at the top of the gate called out to them. "Is that Avatar Korra? What are you doing here?"

"Hey Ulva, thought I come see the old stomping grounds. You mind letting us in?"

"Sure just give me a sec." The guard disappeared out of sight for a few moments, then the gate slowly began to open.

Asami leaned forward and whispered in Korrra's ear. "You knew that man."

"When you spend as much time as I did in one place, you tend to learn a lot about the people around you." When Korra said that, Asami got a small inkling of how shut in the woman in front of her must have been. They both climbed off Naga, and let her roam through the courtyard. The two woman explored the complex as well with Korra occasionally pointing out things of interest, until finally they came upon a giant rectangular platform. "This was the stage where I took all of my element performance tests."

"In other words where you beat up some unfortunate instructors" Asami witted back to her girlfriend.

"Basically. Nothing gets past you miss Sato." Suddenly Korra thought of a devilish idea. "You want to have a little sparring match."

Asami stopped dead in her tracks and for the first time that day was taken aback by Korra's eagerness. "You serious?" Korra proceeded to step on top of the platform and offered her hand to Asami. A smile grew on the young CEO's face as she accepted her hand, and prepared herself for something fun. "You're on."

Korra removed her snow gloves and threw them to the side. "I'm not gonna use the elements or the Avatar State. I want to see which one of us is the better hand to hand combatant."

"As if that needed to be contested." Asami followed suit by taking her gloves off as well and throwing them next to Korra's.

While stretching out her muscles Korra glared at her girlfriend. "Someone thinks highly of themselves."

Dropping into her own fighting stance Asami readied herself. "Just come at me."

Korra made the first move taking a simple jab at Asami. It was easily parried, and returned with a swing of the elbow. Korra ducked underneath it, and attempted a leg sweep. However, Asami jumped over her leg and come down on Korra with a falling round house kick. She barely was able to roll out of the way as Asami's foot hit the ground. Getting back to her feet Korra rushed forward, tackled Asami, and pinned her arms to the ground.

She fell on her back pretty hard, and it sent a shockwave throughout her body. "Ow, that actually hurt."

Korra didn't move from her purch, she just stared down at her helpless opponent. "I'm sorry, I guess i was a little too into it. But thats's what you get for making me think that I snore, and then pouncing on me in bed."

A pained giggle escaped Asami. "Ahh, I thought you would have liked me being playful like that."

"Not when you're the only one who gets to do this." Korra then leaned down and caught Asami's lips, imitating what was done to her earlier that morning. Releasing her grip on Asami's arms Korra and moved her hands upward to interlock their fingers together. She wanted to enjoy this moment as long she could, and to be as close to Asami as she would let her. Korra eventually pulled away, and she looked down at the gentle eyes of the woman she loved. The thought that they had only reunited a few weeks ago after three long years; wasted time that Korra planned to make up for.

The warm touch of Asami grip loosened, and she reached up to brush away a small bang that had fallen in front of Korra's eyes. "You made a mistake Avatar." Suddenly the battle trained CEO wrapped her legs around Korra's waist and pulled sharply to the right to flip the two of them over. This maneuver put Korra now on her back, and Asami atop of her once again. "Never let your guard down."

"Am I interrupting anything" a wizened voice echoed from the other side of the courtyard. The two women jumped to their feet, and looked for the source of the voice. Korra quickly caught sight of a white-haired elder woman wearing traditional water tribe robes walking towards them.

From the first glimpse of her unmistakable features, Korra immediately recognized who it was. "Katara." The young woman jumped off the platform and ran straight to her old waterbending mentor. Once she got close enough Korra wrapped Katara in a tight hug. "How are you. It's been so long."

"It has. You seem to be back to normal other than some obvious changes." Katara then pointed a finger at Korra's short hair to show that was what she was talking about. Asami slowly approached behind them, and stood next to Korra. "So tell me, did you girls come all this way to visit me."

Korra hesitated before she spoke. "Oh. Ugh, Asami and I are on vacation, and she wanted to see the compound." Asami could feel the uncertainty building inside Korra. She knew that Korra cared about Katara, but after what happened with her parents Asami understood why she wouldn't want to tell the whole truth just yet. "Sorry if we made any commotion. We were having a little sparring session on the platform."

"That's quite alright. From what I can tell you have a lot more training to do." For the third time that day Korra turned red from embarrassment. What made it worse was that it was coming from her old mentor.

Noticing this Asami put a hand on Korra's shoulder and said "Well don't worry I can be your tutor."

The silent care she was receiving from Asami relaxed Korra again. "I think I'ld like that." Suddenly a big crash was heard in another part of the compound followed by the howls of a polar bear dog. "Oh no it sounds like Naga got into something. I'll be right back." With A hat Korra ran off into the distance.

A brief set of seconds of silence passed after Korra left before Katara spoke. "So why are you two really here." Asami froze. "You may be actually visiting today, but that's not the entire story is it." Asami turned to look at Katara questioning in her head how she knew. "I could see it in her eyes, a pain that wasn't there the last time I saw her. "

Realizing she wasn't going to be able to hide it, Asami decided to explain. "She wanted to take me to see her parents."

Not fully understanding Katara asked "What's wrong with that?"

"She wanted to take us to her parents." There was an emphasis on the word 'us' that made Katara finally comprehend what was being said. She listened more closely to Asami. "Suffice to say they didn't react very well. They told her that she was broken, and that they wouldn't accept her back until she fixed herself. By the end of last night Korra was sobbing herself to sleep in my lap while we stayed at an inn, and this morning I suggested to her that she take me sightseeing around the Southern Water Tribe. I thought it might get her mind off of what happened."

"You really care for her don't you" Katara asked with a sincerity and interest that made Asami feel like it was safe to delve deeper.

"Yes. We've grown so close recently, and the thought of her being hurt tears me up inside. When she was recovering from the attack by Zaheer I wanted to be here with her so badly. But she wasn't ready to let me in yet, and now that she has I have to do everything in my power to support her."

A knowing smile grew on Katara's face. "You remind me of myself when I began to discover my feelings for Aang. You want to protect the one you love, shield them from any harm, but you have to understand that Korra needs to experience some of this pain. Otherwise how else is she going to grow."

Asami was about to respond, but Korra came walking back up to them with her polar bear dog in tow. "Sorry it took me a minute. Naga was caught up in some of the crates in the back warehouse. Did I miss anything."

Katara walked forward and put both her hands on Korra's shoulders. "Korra, you know you're free to make your own choices in this world. Don't let your fear of what I might think make you feel like you have to keep secrets from me."

Korra turned away from Katara and looked over to Asami. "You told her didn't you."

Asami innocently shrugged. "She saw right through us Korra."

Katara pulled Korra in and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I have no grievances against who you are, and I'm sorry your parents reacted the way they did. I would have thought they'd be above that kind of bigotry."

"I was surprised too" Asami interjected. This was something that was bothering her ever since yesterday. "I know same sex couples are rare in the Southern Water Tribe, but I didn't realize that it was still that heavily looked down upon."

Motioning now to Asami, Katara said "I believe you'll find that to be true in most places. People as a whole may seem to be improving, but there are still some who hold true to their beliefs. That's something you're going to have to prepare yourselves for. Korra is not the only one facing discrimination. If this relationship is what the two of you really want, than you are going to have to stand together against a great amount of hatred."

At that moment Korra walked over to Asami, grabbed her hand, and looked her in the eye. "As long as you're beside me, I will gladly face any prejudice."

Surprised at the sudden change in feeling and attitude Asami asked "Are you sure?"

"Yes, even if one of the naysayers happens to be my parents. Don't get me wrong I'm still hurt, and I'm not looking forward to all the negative things that await us. But you are worth it. We've only officially been together for a week, but I know in my heart that what we are doing is not a mistake." Asami was so overwhelmed with emotion that she instantly cupped Korra's face with her hands, and connected their lips once again. She was so proud of how brave her girlfriend was being, and how she thought she was worth fighting for. If Korra was willing to do that for her, than she was going to return the favor. When Asami finally pulled away, Korra snickered to herself. "You know that's the first time we've kissed in front of somebody."

Asami giggled, closed her eyes, and put her forehead against Korra's. "I don't care as long as you're the one I'm kissing."

Katara spoke up again waking Asami and Korra from their loving trance. "Girls why don't you head inside and get comfortable. I'm not sure where you had in mind to stay tonight, but I personally think it would be best if you stayed here."

"The inn keeper may get a little miffed if we don't end up returning, but I think we'll be fine." Asami then bowed her head in respect. "Thank you Master Katara for your hospitality and kind words."

"Come with me." A sharp tug on Asami's arm caught her by surprise as she was all of sudden being pulled away towards the inside entrance. Korra's grip was firm, but it did not hurt in the slightest. She turned back to Asami as she continued to lead her and said. "We're staying in my old room. I hope you don't mind a smaller bed."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

A smooth chill filled the air as the sun slowly rose over the compound. Asami sneakily creaked out of the room that she and Korra shared, and quietly walked down the passageway that lead outside. A few minutes prior she made a call to her captain and found out that they will be clear to leave later on that day. With that knowledge she thought it best to let Korra sleep in while she went out to get some provisions for the flight back to Republic City. As Asami stepped out into the cold and looked around, she saw how greatly barren the compound was. She hadn't noticed the day before, because she was so wrapped up with cheering up Korra. Asami wondered if the amount of people living and working in the compound decreased after Korra left for Republic City a few years back. She also thought to herself how lonely a place like this must be.

"Looks like someone is an early riser" a voice called out from behind Asami. She quickly turned around to see a semi-older woman with grey-hair and a mischievous grin. "You're Asami right?Sorry I didn't get a chance to greet you last night, I was preoccupied healing a broken leg one of the guards sustained on duty." Asami didn't know what to make of this woman. She vaguely remembered her from somewhere, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The woman took notice of her uncertainty. "Oh I'm sorry, I'm not sure if we've been formally introduced. I'm Kya, Katara and Aang's daughter.."

A flood of realization filled Asami. "Oh yes, now I remember. Korra mentioned you a couple times."

Kya smiled at the fact that she had been recognized. "Korra talked about you a lot as well during her recovery."

Slightly embarrassed Asami turned a small shade of red. "She did? What did she say."

"That your an amazing person, no one is as talented and brave as you are. Basically she told me how much she appreciated you as a friend."

Asami's body tensed at the mention of the word friend. She wasn't sure she should tell Kya about her real relationship to Korra just yet. So half confident about Kya, Asami responded "Yea, Korra and I are the best of friends."

Kya, however, was not buying any of it. She chuckled at the obvious nervousness of the young woman in front of her and. "Relax I already know."

Once again Asami was taken aback that someone had figured them out. "You do?" Asami briefly wondered to herself if she gave it away with the way she answered the previous question "Did Korra or Katara tell you?"

"They didn't have to. Trust me when I say I understand you girls more than you know."

Asami was confused at the interjection, but she chose not to question it. "Well thank you. I was just about to take Naga back to Harbor City to get some supplies. If Korra wakes up before I get back, can you tell her that we're leaving later on today?"

Kya nodded. "I'd be happy to."

Asami walked to the stable in the far corner of the complex, and found Naga lying next to a pile of hay. "Good morning Naga. I need to go into town to run some errands. Would you mind coming with me?" The large animal slowly got to its feet, walked to Asami, and kneeled down for her to get on. "Thank you girl, I promise we won't be too long." Asami then climbed on to the obedient polar bear dog's back, and they were on their way. The guard Asami met the day before opened the gate for her, and waved her off as she left.

It was not too long of a trip back to Harbor City. Naga moved at a steady pace, and Asami got to see more clearly the low sun shine against the snow as it rose in the sky. The contrast of the quiet peaceful area compared to the hustle and bustle of Republic City made her question if she really wanted to leave. Maybe she could convince Korra to stay another day or so. She wasn't quite ready to put an end to their vacation just yet. Soon the outline of the city came into view. Asami decided she would still get the needed supplies, and would make a decision when she was back at the compound and could talk to Korra.

The streets were not very crowded due to how early in the morning it was, so she and Naga did not encounter much trouble while strolling along. Here and there Asami would stop to purchase some food items or articles of clothing that she thought looked cute. However, one shop she entered contained a vast array of necklaces being brandished in glass cases. They all had different designs and insignias, and no two were alike. Asami was deeply intrigued by these unique pieces of jewelry. Suddenly an older gentleman then walked out from the backroom and approached her. "Can I help you mam?"

"I was just admiring your wares. These are very interesting necklaces. Is there a reason why they all look different."

"Oh you must not be familiar with Water Tribe culture." The man opened up one of the cases, and handed one of the necklaces to Asami. "These are betrothal necklaces. A young man gives one of these to his beloved to show that he wishes to get married."

Asami flipped the piece of jewelry through her fingers several times taking notice of every marking on it. "Married huh. That's an interesting tradition."

"Well typically the man is supposed to make the necklace himself, but sometimes a man is not as crafty as he wants to be. That's where I come in." The store owner took the necklace from Asami, and placed it back in its case. "I make and sell these necklaces for those who are unable to make one for themselves."

A curious idea then entered Asami's head. "Do you ever sell them to women?"

The store owner thought to himself for a moment. "I haven't personally, but I guess it's not unheard of for the woman to propose. In fact I heard a rumor that Chief Eska from the North proposed to some guy a few years back." Asami tried to hide her knowing grin of the irony pertaining to that story. "Anyway are you telling me that you're interested miss?"

"I might be, that's assuming you can give me a good deal." Money was not an issue to Asami, but she wanted to have a little fun playing bargainer.

The challenge, however, did not seem to make the store owner flinch. "I'll try, but it'll depend on what necklace you choose and what you want it to say."

Not certain of what the man meant Asami asked "How do I know which is the right one?"

The store owner then snapped his fingers. "How bout I ask you some questions, and I'll point you in the right direction. I promise there will not be any shady business."

Intrigued by the man's proposition Asami gave the go ahead. "Alright shoot."

The store owner pulled up a chair that was sitting in the corner, and gestured to it for Asami. Once she sat down he leaned against the counter and lead with his first question. "How did you two first meet?"

Asami chuckled as the memory came flooding back. "My ex-boyfriend actually introduced us at a banquet. We didn't fancy each other much at first, but after awhile we became good friends and eventually more."

The man nodded. "Have you two faced hardship?"

This question made Asami shutter slightly. She didn't like thinking back on those lonely nights, but she did feel comfortable enough to talk about it. "Yes, very much so. In fact just until recently we had been separated from each other for close to three years. It was very lonely for the both of us. However, we wrote to each other frequently and that lessened the pain a little bit, and I believe through those letters our relationship grew to the romantic level it is now."

At this the store owner smiled. "That's sweet. My last question is, how would you define your love for each other?"

"Firm and supportive. We are there for each other all the time. If one of us is down we always try to pick the other back up." Asami then remembered something that made heralmost choke on her own words. "My father had died a week ago, and she did everything she could do to make me feel better; she even took me on a vacation. It was really.. "

The store owner then held up a hand to halt Asami mid sentence. "Excuse me, did you say she?"

Realizing that she had not yet clarified the specifics of her relationship to Korra, Asami began to nod her head. "Oh yes, I have a girlfriend."

The store owner's bright smile had now turned into a deep frown. "I'm sorry mam, but I'm not sure we're going to be able to make a deal today."

Surprised at the sudden change in attitude Asami asked "What why not? I have the money."

"It's not about the money" the mam yelled. "It's about me not wanting to sell anything to some filthy dyke."

Asami rose swiftly from the chair, and stared the man dead in the eye. "What did you call me?"

The store owner, however, did not back down. There was a deep anger behind his eyes, and he shoved Asami in the shoulder knocking her into one of countertops behind her. "You heard me. Now get out of my store. I don't want your kind anywhere near here."

Not taking a second thought Asami stormed out the door and started running aimlessly down the street. Her face burned with a deep fire, and a small feeling of anger churned in the pit of her stomach. She wished she could have hit that man for what he said. It wasn't like her to feel this way, but Asami couldn't help it. The ignorance she just witnessed infuriated her. Through her sprint down the city streets Asami accidentally missed a step and fell face first into the snow. The heat of rage within her cheeks began to cool against the ice cold powder. As she laid there for several seconds Asami discovered that tears were beginning to fall from her eyes into the snow in front of her. The sight of this instantly took her aback. Asami couldn't remember the last time she had cried. Even when her father died, Asami was able to keep her emotions mostly in check. For awhile now she's tried to be strong in order to comfort and give support to Korra, but after this incident she couldn't keep it in any longer. For several minutes Asami didn't move, she simply laid on her stomach bawling. Finally a loud sniffing noise right above her neck brought the young CEO back to reality. Asami flipped onto her back, and saw the dark eyes of a lovable polar bear dog looking down at her. A small glimmer of relief and joy recovered in Asami's heart from seeing the he Familar face of Naga. "Sorry I left you back there girl. My curiosity didn't pay off the way I hoped." Naga lowered her head slightly to nuzzle her nose into Asami's chest. The small gesture made the young woman smirk slightly. "I love you to. Why don't we start heading back. I don't feel in the mood to shop anymore."

It did not take too long for them to return to the compound. Once inside Asami dismounted from Naga, and started to walk towards the indoor entrance. That's when she saw Korra leaning against a column and staring up at the sky. After a few moments Korra soon caught sight of Asami, At first Korra appeared to be quite happy to see her, but her face quickly turned to a look of concern. Korra entered a quick sprint straight towards her, and wrapped her arms tightly around Asami's neck as soon as she was close enough. "What happened?"

Asami was deeply confused on how Korra immediately knew something was wrong. "How did you..."

Korra placed her forehead to Asami's and whispered "Do you think I can't tell when your not your usual happy self."

Although she had only been gone a few hours, hearing Korra's comforting voice soothed Asami shaken nerves. She melted within Korra's embrace, and Asami returned the favor by wrapping her own arms around Korra's waist. After exhaling deeply and taking a big gulp Asami began to explain. "I went into town to get some supplies, and I visited one store owner that didn't treat me very well."

Korra grasped ahold of Asami's hands, because she noticed they were beginning to shiver. "What did they do?"

Asami's voice was choked, and every other word took a little more effort for her to say. "I was looking to get you a gift, but the man heard me mention that it was for my girlfriend and he..."

Korra began to become seriously concerned for her girlfriend. Usually she's very calm and collected, but something had really gotten her riled up. "Asami please talk to me. What did this man do to you. Let me be there for you like you're always there for me."

At that moment Asami's tears broke free once more, and she buried her head into Korra's shoulder. "He called me a filthy dyke." Korra's eyes grew wide with shock. She raised her hand up and began to soothingly stroke the back of Asami's head. "He said he didn't want my kind anywhere near his store and then yelled at me to get out."

"He did not?" Both Korra and Asami looked to the side to see Kya standing there; she also wore a look of concern. "Asami I'm so sorry you had to experience that. I wish I could say there won't be many people who act like that, but sadly old ideology is hard thing to put aside. All I can say to the two of you is keep your chins up, and never let any jerks like that guy get the best of you." She then winked at the two girls and flashed a gentle smile. "After all, us girls have to stick together."

Taking notice of the wink Asami's curiosity started to boil again. "Ugh Kya this may be very blunt for me to ask, but are you..."

"Yes, and I'm proud of it." Kya then kneeled down in front of Asami and wiped her remaining tears with the edge of her sleeve. "You should to."

Asami glanced over to Korra, and slowly started to cheer up. "Don't worry I have a good reason to be."

Korra and Asami spent the rest of the morning relaxing around the compound and retelling their recent adventure in the spirit world to their lovely hosts. Once it got later in the afternoon the two women bid farewell to Katara and Kya promising to keep constant contact with them about everything. They arrived at the air clearing, where the plane was parked, fairly quickly. Naga loaded into the lower compartments with the supplies, and Asami made sure to make her a nice little bed in the corner out of several blankets so she could get the sleep she was deprived of earlier that morning. After conversing with the pilot briefly in the cockpit, Asami walked into the cabin of the plane and fell into one of the couch seats in the back. It had been a long three days, and she was ready to go home. Suddenly a warm body plopped next to her and leaned into her shoulder. "You tired as I am?"

"Excuse me? Weren't you the one who slept in all this morning" Asami joked.

Korra however did not laugh. Instead she clasped on to her girlfriend's hand and looked up into her eyes. "That's not what I meant Asami."

With a deep sigh Asami turned to look out the window to see the plane was now moving. "We've been semi-open with our relationship for three days now, and I already feel like the whole world is against us. On the outside it may seem like people have become more accepting of one another, but there is still a prejudice that the world does not see." Asami's grip on Korra's hand grew tighter as small fury built inside her. "He was so nice to me before. How can someone who seems so caring crucify you like that."

"That's what I keep wondering about my parents" Korra muttered as she lifted her head from Asami's shoulder.

Mentally kicking herself, Asami tried to apologize. "Korra I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." She was then silenced by a quick peck of the lips.

Korra grinned at how she finally got one over on Asami. "Don't worry about it. Like Katara and Kya said, this is something we're going to have to deal with. I don't want to go through the same pain I felt when I told my parents, but I know I would feel a lot worse if I was unable to be with you." Korra's words were hitting a chord with Asami, and she could feel her flame of anger begin to cool down. "So regardless of how people treat us, we need to stick together."

Suddenly the plane inclined signaling that they had just taken off and we're now on their way home. After watching the clouds pass by for a bit, Asami leaned over and whispered "Korra I just thought of something. What are we going to tell our friends?"

At that moment Korra's whole body froze over. Talking to everyone she knew in Republic City about her relationship with Asami had not yet crossed her mind. "Do we have to tell them right away?"

Asami thought to herself briefly before responding. "Not really, but they are sure to be suspicious and we shouldn't keep it from them for too long." Korra was gradually turning visibly nervous, so Asami wrapped her arm around her girlfriend's waist and pulled her in close. "We don't have to worry about it just yet. For now let's just enjoy this peaceful flight."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

The shining lights of the Republic City airfield beamed brightly as the jet descended towards the runway. "We're here." Asami said as she watched through the window. Korra twisted her neck left and right which created several popping noises and made Asami cringe. "Do you have to do that."

Korra looked back at her puzzled. "What do you mean? I was just stretching. Don't tell me you're one of those people who thinks it's unhealthy."

"No, but I will admit it is not the most appealing thing to listen to."

Korra slightly blushed in embarrassment. "So I guess that's a bit of a turn off for you isn't it?"

Asami leaned over, kissed Korra on the cheek, and whispered in her ear "Nothing about you is a turn off to me."

The plane finally landed, Korra and Asami say farewell to the pilot, and the two of them slowly leave down the exit stairs. They walk several yards on their way to the road holding hands, until they spot two familiar faces dashing towards them; a goofy looking earthbender followed close behind by his airbending girlfriend. The two girls separate their hands before their friends catch sight of them. "Bolin, Opal what are you doing here" Asami called out.

Opal approached first with a happy grin on her face. "I spotted your plane coming in, and we were close by so..."

"Why didn't you guys tell us you were leaving?" Bolin jumped in front of Opal wide eyed, seemingly distraught, and nose to nose with Korra.

Slightly startled, Korra stumbled backwards away from him. "Sorry Bolin, it was kind of a spontaneous thing."

"Well did you ever consider that I might want to go." He whined while making the face of a spoiled child.

Asami stepped forward in defense of her girlfriend. "What Korra means is that it was supposed to be a girls only vacation."

Bolin then grabbed his girlfriend by the arm, and pulled her in front of him. "Why didn't you take Opal then? "She's a girl."

Opal quickly turned to him, and protested. "Bolin, it's ok they just wanted to take some time for themselves." She then looked back to Korra and Asami. "You guys must be starving, why don't we go get something to eat."

"Sounds great."

The four went to a quaint restaurant in the fire nation district. It was a small mom and pop shop, and the atmosphere within it was so calming to the girls after a long flight. Korra and Asami sat at one side of a table while Opal and Bolin sat on the other. After receiving their orders and taking a minute to enjoy their food, Bolin leaned over the table and said "So tell us. What all did you two do on vacation?"

Korra enjoyed retelling the story to others; it allowed her to relive the brief euphoria she felt with the loving girl sitting beside her. "Well we explored the spirit world for awhile. I showed Asami all the cool things that were there. In fact we came across this really cool hot spring where we..." Asami backhanded Korra's thigh as she was about to give away something very intimate. "...took a swim...to solely relax...and nothing else." Asami mentally facepalmed at how awkward her girlfriend's rewording of the incident sounded.

However, Bolin remained clueless to the odd explanation and didn't notice a thing. "That sounds awesome. What did you do after visiting the spirit world?"

Asami decided to take the lead in the story this time. "Well after we spent a week there we returned to Republic City for about an hour before taking off in one of my personal jets to the South Pole."

"Why'd you go there" Opal asked curious at the choice of location.

Bolin put a hand on her shoulder, and answered the question for them. "Come on Opal. Korra hasn't seen her parents in several months. She probably really missed them, and begged Asami to take her there." He then turned back to Korra as if he solved a great puzzle. "So were they happy to see you?"

Asami grasped ahold of Korra's hand underneath the table, She could feel how shaky it was, so she started rubbing the back of it with her thumb. This eased Korra's tension slightly. Asami spoke again. "We didn't get a chance to see her parents. We actually visited Katara and Tenzin's sister Kya." Her response was subtle, but it seemed to satisfy her intrigued friends.

At that moment a waiter walking nearby accidentally slipped on some loose ice cubes in the floor and accidentally spilt a steaming bowl of soup right in Bolin's lap. He jumped up in pain desperately trying pat the searing broth off of him. "Ahh hot, hot."

Opal jumped out of her seat as well and tried to check on him. "Babe are you ok?"

He waved her off with a small tear in his eye. "Yea I'm fine, but I think I'm gonna go to the bathroom and clean up."

When Bolin ran off, Opal sat down again and the table was put into an awkward silence for several moments. That was until Opal grew a devious smile, leaned forward, and whispered "So you two huh?"

Asami choked on her water, and Korra nearly fell out of her seat. "How did you?"

Opal glanced back and forth between them with a smug grin, and then pointed directly at Korra. "The way you kept looking looking at Asami, it's the same way Bolin looks at me. Also, even though you tried to be sneaky, I did spot you guys holding hands as you got off the plane."

Giving a deep sigh Asami pinched the bridge of her nose. "We seriously need to find a way to be more conspicuous."

Continuing to question them, Opal leaned in further. "Well tell me, how serious are you guys now?" Both woman uncomfortablyk looked at each other, neither sure how to answer. Opal quickly took notice of their lack of comfort. "What? What's the matter?"

Asami took one last look at Korra and said "I'm sorry Opal it's just unnerving to see you acting so cavalier after finding out about us."

Confused at the response Opal asked "Why wouldn't I be?"

Asami blushed as she realized she might have to explain. "Cause Korra and I are both...you know."

"What? Two lovely individuals who obviously deeply care about one another." Right as she said that, Opal gave them both a wink.

A bright gleam of joy built up inside Korra. It felt good to know one of her closest friends was on her side. "Thank you."

"No problem, so when are you planning on telling everybody?" Korra didn't respond to this, and Asami showed a reluctance to say anything either. Opal noticed this, and her happy grin turned into an uncomfortable frown. "You weren't planning on it were you?"

Korra waved her arms in defense. "No we are...eventually."

"Why are you so afraid?" Opal was now getting semi-irritated at the back and forth she was receiving. "We're your friends, you should be able to trust us."

At that moment Asami had enough of the constant badgering and snapped back at her. "Opal I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't the easiest thing for us to talk about. We are just now becoming open about our feelings to each other let alone others.. So forgive us for hesitating to yell out our personal business to everybody we know. We don't know how their going to react, and If I've learned anything in the last few days it's that not everyone is as accepting as you hope they would be.""

"Accepting of what?" Bolin had now returned to the table, and had heard the latter part of what Asami said. The young CEO angrily stood from her seat and rushed out of the restaurant. Bolin looked back down at Opal and asked. "Did I miss something?"

Korra quickly chased after Asami, and as she made it out the front door she spotted her girlfriend several paces ahead. Korra didn't understand what was going through Asami's head, but she knew she needed to find out. As she continued to tail her, Korra called out to Asami. "What was that about? Did Opal's questions irritate you that much?"

Asami kept walking while her head held low. "Korra please, not right now."

Finally Korra caught up with the girl, and grabbed her by the arm. "Asami don't do this. Something is obviously bothering you. It's not like you to just snap at someone like that, especially when they're a close friend."

Suddenly Asami collapsed to her knees, and looked up at Korra with tears in her eyes. "I was shopping, something I've done a thousand times with no incident, but today was different. That man this morning, that complete stranger insulted me. He found out one detail about my personal life, and immediately attacked me." She then peered down at her hands, and stared at the emptiness of her open palms. "But none of that really matters. I've dealt with opinionated jerks before, and I developed tough skin for that kind of stuff. But what upset me was that this man essentially attacked you as well. As my girlfriend all those hateful comments were also aimed at you. And how did I defend you?" A quiet thump was heard as Asami beat her right fist to the ground. "By running away and crying in the snow." Tears were streaming down her face, and falling near her now aching fisting. "After what happened with the red lotus, I promised myself that I would always be there to protect you. Then when it came time to do just that, I choked."

"So basically you're telling me that you reacted the same way I did after my parents said hurtful things to me." That statement halted Asami's fierce sobs, and she looked up at the calm woman standing behind her. "The only difference was you were there with me, and I left you behind with them. If anything I wasn't standing up for you. I was dealing with a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had never felt before, and so were you." Korra then made a devilish smirk and started to speak in a very noble tone. "Also don't you dare question if you were there for me or not. When I was on my knees in the middle of a blizzard crying my eyes out, a beautiful woman atop a white chariot came to me rescue."

"Korra that was.. "

Completely ignoring Asami, Korra continued on. "When I was distraught from all the woes that had been thrust me, this breathtaking maiden let me lay upon her lap until I drifted off to sleep."

Asami began to break a smile and giggle at the ridiculousness of her girlfriend. "Why are you talking like that."

Next Korra dropped to her knees to get eye level with Asami, then grasped both of her hands "And when I was at my lowest point she did everything in her power to try to cheer me up; including kicking my ass in a sparring match."

"I took no pleaser in that." Asami then received doubtful glare from Korra. "Ok maybe it was a little satisfying to knock the avatar down a peg."

Wrapping her arms loosely around Asami's neck Korra whispered "As long as I'm still good enough for you."

"Always." The two lean in and share yet another passionate kiss. The girls were so caught up in their flirtatious banter that they forgot where they were and who who might be watchingFIf.

"Whoa." The it. Cebu hb h N broke their embrace to see Bolin standing a couple feet away staring in awe.

"Surprise" Korra shyly spouted.

He stood still in silence for a few seconds, which only heightened both the awkwardness and the embarrassment that the girls felt. However, he then jumped high into the air and began to cheering wildly. "I knew it. This is so great. It makes so much sense. I can't believe how so amazingly awesome this is. My two favorite gal pals are together now."

"Well we're happy you're happy Bolin." Asami uncomfortably joked as she and Korra got back to their feet.

Opal then walked up behind Bolin and once again winked at the girls. Bolin was quite exuberant, his whole body was shaking in joy. "Is this why you were acting so weird?"

Not certain of the right way to answer Asami simply shrugged and said "Kind of."

"Oh I'm so excited. I can't wait to tell Mako."

That's when Korra stepped up, and interrupted one of her closest friends. "Ugh Bolin, we appreciate your enthusiasm, but this is something we'd like to tell people ourselves."

"Oh ok. I feel you." He then made a turning key gesture on his lips. "Mum's the word."

Korra giggled. She really had missed Bolin's wacky personality while she was away. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse us, it's getting late and the two of us had a long flight. So in other words we're gonna go home."

"Alright we'll see you love birds later." Both Bolin and Opal waved goodbye as Korra and Asami began to walk away.

After many minutes of traveling down the streets Asami gradually turned visibly timid. She didn't know if it was right for her to ask, but Asami still did not feel emotionally hundred percent. "Korra would you care if I stayed with you tonight at the temple? I'm not quite ready to be by myself just yet."

The uncertain request made Korra chuckle. "What made you think I was ready for you to leave my side just yet." Asami's cheeks burned a bright pink from the kind sentiment. Korra then grabbed ahold of her hand and tugged her along. "Come with me, I'm sure Tenzin won't mind." Suddenly a realization came over Korra. "I'm gonna have to talk to Tenzin."

Authors Notes: They're back home and so far so good, but will everyone be like Opal and Bolin. You'll have to stay tuned. As always you can leave a review or PM me with any comments, questions, or randomness that you like.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

The air temple looked so beautiful at night with all the small lanterns illuminating the entire area. As the girls approached a young air bending girl came zooming towards them. "Korra you're back." Ikki dashed right up to her, and wrapped her arms around Korra's waist. She then let go and raised her hand to wave at the woman next to her. "Hey Asami."

The young CEO chuckled at how excitable this little girl was. "Hello Ikki, where is everybody?

Ikki brought her hand in front of her face, and started to count off fingers. 'Well, mom is cooking, Rohan is sleeping, Jinora is meditating, and Meelo is doing whatever Meelo does."

"What about your dad, what's he doing" Korra interrupted. Her outward body language appeared calm, but from the tone of her voice she was growingly nervous. Asami placed a hand on the lower part of Korra's back as inconspicuously as she could. She knew it was not much, but she hoped it would at least give her girlfriend a small measure of comfort.

Despite all of this happening in front of her, Ikki however remained oblivious. "I think dad was at a council meeting, he hasn't come home yet." She then grabbed Korra by the wrist and gave a sharp tug. "Come on, you gotta tell me what happened to you this week." After traversing through several hallways, the girls finally arrived at the kitchen, which also acted as the dinning room. "Mom look who's here."

Pema was standing over a small cauldron filled with what appeared to be a stew, she turned around to see the girls with a big smile on her face. "Korra, Asami what a pleasant surprise. You're just in time for dinner."

Asami with a shy grin waved her off. "I'm sorry Pema but we just ate."

"Oh, well that's ok, we'd still love to have you." Pema noticed Korra was standing sort of gingerly to the side not saying a word. "Korra are you ok?"

Realizing she was now being addressed, Korra quickly got her wits about her. "Yea I'm good, it's just Asami and I got back to Republic City earlier this evening, and we had a really long flight."

Pema scratched the side of her head. "Flight?"

Asami stepped forward and spoke in an effort to explain. "Long story short, we took the week off to do a little sight seeing."

"Oh I see." Pema still looked confused, but didn't press the issue any further. Instead she decided to change the subject. "So Korra are you looking for a place to stay? if so you're old room should still be available."

Without a second thought Korra nodded her head. "Yes, thank you very much. Is it alright that Asami stays here tonight as well?"

The happy smile on Pema's face melted into a look of worry. "Oh no Asami, did something happen to your mansion?"

Asami immediately spotted the confusion and tried to remedy it. "No, no it's just after our trip I'm feeling too tired to make the long trek back home."

Pema contemplated on this request briefly. "Well I suppose it'll be fine."

"What'll be fine?" The voice of a tall bald man with an arrow on his head came bellowing through the kitchen.

"Korra and Asami are staying with us for the night" Pema explained to her husband.

At that point Tenzin took notice of the other girls in the room. "Korra, Miss Sato, how good it is to see you both again. I'll admit I got slightly worried when you two disappeared all of a sudden, but I had a feeling that everything was going to be fine. Everything is fine right?"

Korra's hands started to shake, and her voice became tight and slightly fast paced. "Yea, right as rain. I mean why would there be anything wrong? We're all here, happy, and together. So yea, no troubles whatsoever."

Tenzin simply placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "That's good. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm going to take a short meditation period before dinner."

Once he was again Asami leaned in and whispered into Korra's ear. "Can I speak with you in the other room?" She didn't do anything other than give a small nod. The girls walked down past a couple rooms until they felt they were far enough away from prying ears, and then they entered one of them. Asami closed the door, turned to Koora, and grabbed her by both shoulders. "Are you ok? You're all over the place, and you completely babbled right in front of Tenzin."

The shaking in Korra's hands had now spread throughout her entire body. Asami's arms vibrated from trying to to keep her still, She was breathing in and out heavily, and she had difficulty maintaining eye contact. "I don't know what came over me. I was fine on the way over here, but once we reached the front door I broke down. I was able to bring myself back to focus when Pema began asking questions, but when I saw Tenzin I immediately started to panic. Honestly, for a second there I couldn't breathe."

Asami pulled her in, and gently stroked the back of her head. "Sweetheart it seems like your still having a hard time breathing. Come on sit down." They both slowly plopped to the floor. Asami made sure to maneuver herself behind Korra, so that she could massage the back of her shoulders, and hopefully relieve some of her stress. "Are you that worried about talking to him?"

"Like I said, on the way here I became a little nervous, but I was completely serious about confessing to everyone. Now I'm hyperventilating and shaking like crazy." Korra turned her head over her shoulder to look at the woman behind her. "Asami why do I feel this way?"

A knowing grin grew on Asami's face and she kissed Korra on the cheek. "It's because you really love Tenzin. Ever since you moved to Republic City he's been like a second father to you, and after what happened with your actual father you're worried about how he will respond."

"Why is this so hard." That's when Korra's tears finally broke. Her head fell into her knees, and her body started to heave in pain. "It's not supposed to be like this. I shouldn't have to worry about telling the closest people in my life about the happiest thing in my life."

Asami crawled around to move in front of her, and put her hands on both sides of Korra's face. "I want you to listen. You may be the Avatar, but Korra you are also still human. You're allowed to have fears, anxieties, and even emotional breakdowns; just like I did almost an hour ago in the middle of the street."

Slowly a slight smirk appeared from behind the tears. "We're a mess aren't we" Korra lightly chuckled to herself. "It seems like lately we keep having back and forth drama. Either you're falling apart or I am."

They both laughed, and pulled each other in for a tight embrace. Once again Asami whispered into Korra's ear. "Well lucky for us we have each other to put ourselves back together again."

"Korra, Asami are you in there" Pema asked from behind the door. "We'd enjoy if you sat with us at dinner."

"We'll be out in a second" Asami called back. She wiped the remaining tears from Korra's eyes and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "You are the strongest person I know Korra. You can handle socializing with friends you've known for years. But if you do falter, remember that I'm never to far away. I'll always be there with you."

Korra couldn't resist anymore, and she thrusted her lips directly onto Asami's. They shared a short moment in each other's arms before they at last began to stand up. They made their way back to the kitchen to see Pema laying the last set of plates on the table. She looked up at them and smiled. "It's good to see you two finally came out of the closet." Korra and Asami stood awkwardly in the doorway, both contemplating on if they should respond to that certain response.

"Oh Asami sit here, sit here, I saved a seat for you." Meelo shouted while pointing at the chair next to his.

This time Korra whispered into Asami's ear. "Go on, you haven't seen your boyfriend in forever." Asami shot her a not so pleasing glare, and then walked towards the lovestruck boy.

Both girls sat down, and made themselves comfortable. Neither of them had plates, only tall glasses of water. Everyone was slowly coming in and taking there own place at the table. Pema was getting Rohan situated by cutting up his food, Ikki swirled the food around on her plate to make faces, and Meelo gawked lovingly up at Asami not even paying attention to his food. There was not much being said until Jinora turned to Korra and asked "So you two were in the Spirit World huh?"

Korra nearly choked on her water. "Jinora did you see us there." Thoughts of what she might have seen them doing flooded her head.

"No, I haven't visited the Spirit World for awhile, but I did here from my spirit friends that they saw you guys wandering around. They mentioned something about a hot spring, but I couldn't quite understand what they were talking about."

Asami quickly spoke up to answer. "It was nothing, just a small place that we rested at for a little bit to wet our toes." She hoped that would be a satisfactory enough answer for them not inquire any further into the incident.

"Ah I wish I could go to the spirit world" Meelo complained.

Confused at his disappointment, Korra looked at the young boy and said "Well Meelo you can. With the new spirit portal in the center of the city you can go visit anytime you like."

"Not with all the construction happening." Pema spoke up while still taking care of Rohan.

"Construction" Korra and Assmi questioned simultaneously.

Pema then recognized that the two two girls didn't know what was currently happening, so she finished what she was doing and attempted to explain. "President Raiko has orchestrated a rebuilding effort surrounding the portal. He says he wants to make the area as comfortable and safe as possible for the people of Republic City."

Korra was still uncertain on what she was being told. "That's all fine, but why aren't they allowed to use the portal?"

Jinora answered this time. "Technically he hasn't restricted the portal, however the entirety of the construction site is completely off limits. The only possible way of entering the spirit world right now is by meditating or being an actual spirit."

"He can't do that" Asami snapped, slamming her fiat into the table. Her reaction took everyone aback including Korra. "It defeats the whole purpose of the portal being open."

"I completely agree." Everyone turned to see Tenzin as he now entered the room. He walked around the table and took a seat next to Korra, who still looked slightly nervous, before continuing. "Sadly, Raiko released a statement saying he doesn't think the portal is safe enough yet for the general public. He plans on regulating how and when people can travel through it."

At that moment Korra was the one who snapped. "Are you serious?" She looked over at Asami with a disgruntled determination in her eye. "Tomorrow you and I are going to pay a visit to our dear old city leader."

"Yay Korra is going to beat up President Raiko" Meelo cheered jumping up and down in his chair.

Realizing she stirred up a fire in the little boy, Korra decided to tone herself down. "No Meelo I'm not, however, me and him are going to have a serious chat about this. He shouldn't be making a decision like that without at least discussing it with me first."

Tenzin sighed and shook his head. "I wish you good luck Korra, I spoke with him today and he was pretty adamant about his position."

"If that's the case than we're going to have to make a far more convincing argument." Asami quipped, and then followed up with a subtle wink over to Korra.

The conversation soon dulled down Into more casual topics as most of everyone ate. By the time they finished, Pema had already begun to clean up. "Dinner was delicious dear" Tenzin said as he stood up from the table.

"Pema would you care for some help with the dishes?" Asami offered while grabbing a wash cloth.

"That would be great, thank you Asami. Now if I can only convince my husband or my kids to occasionally lend a hand." Pema looked around as most of her family had already left the dining area or was sitting inactively at the table.

Asami took notice of the joke, and decided to add her own flavor of sarcasm. "Oh don't worry about that Pema. We're women right. We wouldn't want the men to take away the one chore we know how to do."

Tenzin remained unshaken as though he didn't hear himself being made fun. He simply turned around and said "it's been a long day I think I'm going to head off to bed."

As he was walking out of the kitchen, Korra realized this may be her chance. "Ugh, Tenzin do you mind if I speak with you for a minute?"

"Of course not, go right ahead" Tension said as the both of them moved to a separate isolated room.

Once she was sure they were alone, Korra took in one last big breathe before speaking. "I just wanted to explain my and Asami's recent disappearance. During the reception of Varrick and Zhu li's wedding, Asami and I decided to take a vacation to the Spirit World."

Tenzin nodded in approval. "That's good. After everything that happened the two of you deserved a little bit of a break."

It was a good start, and Korra was feeling slightly more calm. "While we were there we explored, visited Iroh, and interacted with all the other spirits. Within that week we really bonded and we sort of affirmed a deep relationship with one another." No change yet in his reaction, so Korra decided to put the last and subsequent biggest nail in the coffin. "Tenzin I really care abut her, I can no longer imagine a world without her, and I thought you of all people should know." After she was done speaking, Korra braced herself for the possible negative backlash.

However, there was no such reaction. "I'm so happy for the two of you."

All the tension and stress built up inside of Korra faded away. "You are?"

"Of course. Korra I may be your instructor, but I also happen to care about your well being. For that brief time you were here before Kuivera attacked you seemed to be so lonely. However, as I look at you now I see a bright glow emanating from your pores, and thanks to what you just told me I now know why."

Korra's smile became so wide that it felt like her cheeks were about to rip. "Oh you don't know how much that means to me."

Tenzin laid a hand on her shoulder, and returned a bright smile of his own. "It's a great thing to witness two comrades come together after a tragedy such as that battle and become best friends."

"Exactly I couldn't agree..." Korra's mind then registered the last phrase Tenzin used. "Wait what?"

Before she could correct him, Tenzin had already started to walk away. "I'm sorry to be so rude Korra, but it's been a very stressful day and I really must retire for the evening." Without another word he was gone.

Now standing alone, Korra let out a deep sigh. "Don't I know the feeling."

Korra shuffled down the hall until she saw Asami running up to her. "How'd it go?"

"For such a wise man Tenzin can be really oblivious." Asami didn't quite understand what Korra meant, and made a puzzled look. "I told him about how close we got in the spirit world, but he mistook it as us simply becoming best friends."

"Weren't we already" Asami joked. However, Korra didn't laugh, and the brief feeling of joy had left her. In response Asami raised the tip of Korra's chin with the side of her finger. "Hey cheer up, at least you tried. Later we can explain it to him in more detail, together."

No matter how low she felt, Asami was always able to make Korra feel better.. "I'd like that. It's a lot easier when you're there."

"I could say the same for you." Asami then pointed to a door a few steps behind her that contained Korra's room "Let's go to bed."

Asami wrapped an arm around Korra's shoulder slowly started to stride together down the hall. However, right as they reached the door, Pema came around the corner and called out to them. "Oh Asami you don't have to share a room with Korra we have a separate one for you."

Taken aback Asami didn't know how to respond. They had not thought about coming up with an excuse for sleeping in the same room. "Ugh well I..."

Before she could come up with something reasonable to say, Pema grabbed Asami by the wrist and started to pull her away. "Here I'll show you where it is." As they went back around the corner, Asami glanced over her shoulder and mouthed what appeared to be an apology.

It all happened so fast Korra didn't realize till several seconds later that she was once again alone. She opened the sliding door to her room, and slowly shut it behind her. No lamps or candles were illuminated making it difficult to see. Almost like muscle memory Korra ignited a small flame on the point of her index finger, so she could find her way to the bed. Not bothering with sleep-ware she simply stripped to her undergarments and climbed underneath the covers. As she laid there staring at the ceiling waiting for sleep to take her, Korra realized this was the first night in close to two weeks that she and Asami didn't sleep together, and without her there Korra's tears once again appeared. She tried to keep the volume of her crying down in order to not wake everyone up. And when it felt like she couldn't cry anymore, Korra turned onto her side and whispered "Night Asami. I love you."

Author's Notes: Have I broken you guys yet. Thank you all again for reading. I appreciate every kind word I receive about this story even if it's several days after I update it. Next chapter may be a little different than what you're used to. So look out for that. Also some of you may have noticed a little addition I put in my profile. Because I've received many comments about continuing the story (even though I've made no indication of slowing down) I've created a percentage counter on how far my next chapter is in completion. If you are ever questioning the progress of my writing please check my profile, because I update the counter daily. Until next time please review and or PM me with any compliments, critiques, or concerns if you feel so obligated.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Silence carried throughout the air temple's interior. Not a sound could be heard. It puzzled Korra, she thought she would at least see Meelo or Ikki running about getting into some sort of trouble. However, that was not the case. She would have woken Asami up, but she didn't know which room she was staying in. So instead Korra simply wandered the halls aimlessly, not looking for anyone or anything. Suddenly Tenzin walked around a corner carrying what appeared to be a small cup of tea. He spotted the young girl shuffling about and called out to her. "Korra, I was just coming to see if you gotten up; it's nearly lunch time."

She peered over her shoulder lazily,. Her eyes were baggy, and a deep frown hung on her face. "Yea I have, I kinda didn't get much sleep last night."

"Why is that" He asked curiously

Korra tried to think of a reasonable excuse, but at that point she simply didn't care anymore, She wasn't going to censor her feelings any longer. "Because Asami wasn't there." Korra approached Tenzin slowly, and looked straight on into his eyes. "She's my girlfriend and we couldn't sleep in the same bed, because we didn't know how to tell you." The sudden rush of confessing hit Korra all at once once with emotion, and before she knew it she was once again tearing up.

Tenzin dropped the tea in his hand, and quickly pulled her into a tight embrace as she began to break down and cry into his shoulder. "It's ok, it's ok" He said while rubbing her back. "Why were you afraid of telling us?"

Stepping away Korra wiped away the tears with her sleeve "We weren't afraid." She paused as she remembered the conversation she had with Asami the night before. "I was not afraid. We just didn't know the right way to tell you. I tried to, but you didn't understand."

Tenzin did not respond right away as he thought back on the events of the previous night. A realization then came over him. That's when he took a deep breath, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Korra I've never lied to you, and I'm not going to start now. I personally do not agree with relationships such as these," Like that, Korra's fears were beginning to turn into a reality. It was happening once again, and she wasn't sure how she was going to react. She wanted to run away again, but for some reason she couldn't move her legs. Korra was freaking out, but suddenly she was pulled in for yet another hug. "However, just because I personally feel this way does not mean that I'm going to criticize you, disown our relationship to one another, or deny that what you're feelings for Asami is real love. Korra you are like a daughter to me, and I would never look down upon you simply because you believe in something that I don't."

Just as quickly as it came, the anxiety Korra felt left her body completely. All that remained was joy, and a sense of relief. She wrapped her arms tightly around Tenzin, and whispered "I wish my actual parents felt the same way you do."

This new admittance only took Tenzin even more off guard. "Korra what happened while you were away?"

She backed up to the wall, and slid down until she sat firmly on the cold floor. Korra looked up at Tenzin, inviting him to join her. He immediately obliged taking a spot next to her. Once they were comfortable Korra began to explain. "It all started when we decided to visit the spirit world." Korra and Tenzin spent the next hour discussing all that had transpired in the past week and half; both the good and the bad.

Soon Pema walked up on the two, deeply confused on why they were sitting in the middle of the hall. "What are you two doing over here?" Korra stood up and wrapped her in a tight hug, which only befuddled Pema more.

Tenzin smiled at his wife and said "I'll tell you about it later."

"Where's Asami" Korra asked slightly curious on why she hadn't seen her that morning yet.

"Oh she got up really early this morning" Pema explained. "Said she had an errand to run and that she would contact you later."

"She left?" Korra was taken aback. It was bad enough she had spent the night without her, but now she may not see her until later that evening.

Tenzin stood up next, and spoke in his usual fatherly tone. "Korra listen I know your hurt right now, and Asami may give you comfort, but she can't be around you 24/7. You need to remember that you are both separate individuals that have responsibilities outside of each other. Let her be for now, I promise she'll return to you later on."

Korra thought about what he said for a moment. It's true she and Asami cared about each other, but had they also lost sight of the world around them. They may have just begun to discover how they feel about each other, but that didn't mean they could shuck their responsibilities. "You're right Tenzin. She's the CEO of a multibillion yuan company, and I'm the Avatar. We both have jobs to do, and it's about time I picked up the slack on mine. The vacation is over." Korra then began to walk away with a determined pace.

"Where are you going" Tenzin called out.

"As I said last night, I need to pay a visit to our caring leader." On her way out Korra grabbed the blue glider staff that she previously left at the temple. She immediately soared up into the air as soon as she got outside. The wind whisked past her short brown hair as she zoomed past buildings and down several streets that lined Republic City. After a short flight, Korra arrived at the Republic City Capital. She pushed past several secretaries and guards, until she reached Raiko's office.

Seemingly busy with work he did not look up from his desk as Korra entered the room. "Yai, I thought I told you not to disturb me until I finished this paperwork."

"So that's the name of the woman who kept yelling at me on my way up here. I suppose she was your assistant. I'll make sure to apologize later for ice bending that cup of water she was sipping."

The familiar voice called to Raiko's attention, and he glanced at the door to see Korra leaning against it with staff in tow. "Ahh, Avatar Korra what a pleasant surprise. How may I assist you?"

Not wasting any time stormed right up to his desk, and pointed angrily with her index finger "You can start by explaining why you're preventing people from going near the spirit portal."

Raiko did not falter in his calm demeanor, and he simply replied "As it currently stands the area surrounding the portal is unsafe for the general public. There are debris, unstable soil, and I'm still awaiting word on if there was any radioactive fallout from the initial spirit energy explosion. I'm making sure that there is no chance of any of my citizens being harmed by this sudden and untested phenomenon; it's one of my responsibilities as a president."

"Yea, well I'm trying to maintain a constant balance between both the spiritual and physical world; it's one of my responsibilities being the Avatar." Korra stood her ground, and was very proud of her sarcastic rebuttal. She hoped it showed Raiko that she was completely serious about this. "My job includes making sure that spirits and humans have equal opportunities to enter each other's worlds. You authorizing this construction is hindering on that balance."

Despite all the accusations, Raiko continued to defend himself. "Avatar Korra I assure you these building efforts are temporary, and I promise the men and women down there are working hard to finish the construction as soon as possible."

Raiko seemed to be very confident with the answer, however, Korra still did not back down and still pressed the issue. "That may be so, but it doesn't excuse you from regulating who's allowed to go in once you're done."

This last seemed to have gotten to Raiko as his facial features slowly began to crack and appear irritated "That is a completely different issue entirely. You may not have realized this yet, but that giant beam shooting up in the sky from the middle of our city is more than just an entrance to an unimaginable wonderland. It is a gateway for invaders to attack Republic City from the inside. We need to have the ability to know who is coming and going, and why they are doing so." Raiko's fist was tensing up. Korra knew she was beginning to get to him.

Regardless Korra was going to continue on her rant until her point had been fully made. "It's one thing to have security, but what you're talking about is picking and choosing who you think is worthy to enter."

"How else am I going to protect the city from that obvious security flaw?" The volume of his voice was rising, pushed any further and he may explode on her.

"That is for me to decide." Korra then turned away from him, and looked out the oversized window that had a perfect view of the city with the big yellow portal in the distance. "You are not wrong about the portal presenting a possible danger, however, that does not mean we have to sacrifice our moral character by invading peoples' privacy. You may be the president, but that does not give you the right to go over my head when it comes to things like this."

Suddenly a smug grin grew on Raiko's face. "I would have gladly met with you to discuss how to properly proceed with this situation, however, I could not get ahold of you all this week. Where have you been?"

Korra, however, did not miss a beat and immediately turned back on him. "I was on a temporary leave inside the spirit world. However, I did briefly return to Republic City three days ago, and there was no indication of anyone attempting to contacting me back then. In fact when I returned again last night, there was still no message left for me or anything. I only found out about this through casual conversation with close friends. Now if you are trying to accuse me of being negligent, you are going to be sorely mistaken." Raiko was silent, and an evident annoyance was held behind his eyes. It was at that moment that Korra knew she had won. "Since you've already started it, I want you to continue the construction. However, once it's finished, you and I are going to properly discuss how to ensure the security of the portal. Until then have a nice day." Korra began to walk away, but right as she got to the door she looked over her shoulder and said "By the way, next time you try to lie to me, make sure you cover all your bases first." She shot him a parting wink and made her way out of the building.

It was getting late into the afternoon, and Korra had not eaten a thing. Yet she did not feel at all hungry, The only thing she craved was to see Asami, but Korra knew she had to get used to not having her around all the time. So with no other plans Korra wandered through the streets, peeking her head every so often into small shops along the way. After strolling for a little while, Korra spotted Bolin running up to her a short distance away. "Korra wait up."

Surprised to see her friend Korra greeted him with a soft smile. "Oh hey Bolin."

"Whatcha doing" he asked. Bolin was very much out of breathe after his little sprint

"Oh just giving President Raiko a major headache, you know the usual."

Bolin swirled his head around in several directions as though he was looking for something. "Where's Asami? I thought you two would be inseparable."

Once again Korra was abruptly reminded of her girlfriend's absence. "She...had errands to run, so I took the free time I had to take care of mine."

Bolin noticed something was off by the way she responded, but decided against digging too deep into it. "Oh well listen, I was heading over to the station to visit Mako. Do you want to come with? I'm sure he's really missed you."

The idea of more friends cheered Korra up slightly. "Well I sure have missed him. That sounds great Bolin."

"Are you gonna tell him the news?" Bolin made sure to whisper, so that people walking by wouldn't be able to hear him.

Korra paused to think about the inquiry. No final decisions had been made on when and how to tell Mako. Unlike her other friends, Mako held a different place in her heart as well as her life for quite awhile. The problem was that Korra couldn't figure out how to tell her ex that she was dating his other ex. "I probably should say something, but I think Mako is a person that Asami and I need to talk to together. So for now I'll keep it low key, but I think after this morning I'm ok with talking about it."

Bolin didn't quite understand what she meant. "What happened this morning?"

"I'll tell you on the way." The two casually traversed the inner workings of Republic City while discussing what happened after they parted the night before and what transpired early in the day. They soon came upon a building that in front adorned a statue of the first metalbender Toph Beifong.

They had no trouble getting in. When the woman at the front desk saw that it was Korra and Bolin she waved them on to head inside. The headquarters hadn't changed much in the years that they had been paying visits to it, however, Bolin lead Korra to an office doorshe did not recognize. After giving a subtle knock on the door, it was swiftly answered by a very surprised Mako. The two brothers hugged and Mako said. "Hey bro I wasn't expecting a visit from you today." He then noticed the young woman that accompanied Bolin. "Korra? Where have you been?"

Korra was beginning to lose count of how many times she had been asked that question in the last twenty-four hours. "You know what, can't a girl disappear for an entire week without any warning or explanation?"

Mako chuckled. "I'm guessing that's meant to be a for of sarcasm."

Korra smiled back at him, she was glad to see he was happy. "How are you Mako?"

"I'm good. After Prince Wu relieved me of my duties, Chief Beifong brought me back as a full time detective." He then flashed a badge that hung on the inside of his coat.

Korra was elated. "That's great, I'll get to see more of you than."

Mako turned away from her, and walked into his office. "That's if you can stay still long enough."

Disconcerted at the response she got, Korra's jaw drop. Just a second ago he seemed happy to see her. She followed him in front of his desk. "Wow, are you actually upset about me taking time for myself?"

Mako leaned back in his chair, and tried to appear perturbed "It's just after three years of being away, I thought you'd be tired of having time alone for yourself."

"But she wasn't alone." Bolin interrupted. "She was with Asami."

This new information took Mako even further aback. "You went away with Asami? Why didn't you invite us?"

"That's what I asked her, but then I found out..." Korra then shot Bolin a warning glare. "They were wanting it to be a girls only thing."

Mako glanced back and forth between the two before replying "Whatever, did you two have fun doing whatever you did?"

Glad that he appeared to be letting it go, Korra took a seat in front of his desk. "Yes we did. After what happened with Kuivera and Asami's dad, we needed to get away."

"I completely understand. My arm still aches from being nearly blown off." Mako then brandished a small white cast wrapped around his forearm

An awkward silence held between the three, until Bolin broke the tension. "So what are you up to bro?"

Mako let out a light sigh of exhaustion. "For right now just paperwork, but I'm keeping my ear to the ground for any cases."

"Is Lin not giving you any assignments?" Korra asked

"There hasn't been much to investigate lately. People are still trying to recover from that big invasion."

That's when Korra came up with a plan to kill two birds with one stone. "You know what, I think I might have something for you. President Raiko has been orchestrating a construction effort within the proximity of the new spirit portal that is preventing people from going through it. Could you keep an eye on anything happening around that. I already heard his spiel about keeping the city safe, but I got a funny feeling there's an alternative motive somewhere."

"What makes you say that" Bolin curiously asked.

Korra looked him straight in the eye. "He lied to my face and got caught."

"Korra I'm not sure about this" Mako interjected. "You're essentially asking me to spy on the President. I can't do that."

""Sure you can, he's just another politician." Korra knew it wasn't much of a justification, but she felt it was still true. "I'm not saying he's a bad guy, but we need to make sure he's not doing anything crooked."

"That may be so for a reporter, but for me there are laws I have to follow. I'm sorry, but I just can't help with this." Mako seemed to be firm on his stance, and there seemed to be little possibility of him budging.

Korra sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright I'll have to figure it out on my own."

Suddenly the phone on Mako's desk began to ring. "One sec I have to take this." He picked up the phone. "Republic City Police Department?" The faint sound of a young woman was heard on the other end. "Asami?" Korra nearly jumped out of her chair when she heard that name, but for appearances and her own modesty she kept her composure. There was a small passing of seconds as Mako listened to what he was being told over the phone. He then glanced over at Korra with a confused expression. "Yea she's right here." He reached the phone over his desk to hand it off. "Korra, she wants to speak with you."

She slowly raised the device to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey dear how's your day going?"

The sound of Asami's voice sounded so sweet in Korra's ear. It took all she had not to give away her excitement in front of Mako and Bolin. "It's going alright. How did you know I was here?"

"Educated guess." Even though she couldn't see her, Korra knew Asami was smirking on the other line. "I assume the two lug heads are standing in front of you listening to everything you say."

Korra looked up to see both Mako and Bolin staring at her dumbfounded. "Yea."

"Alright than you just listen. Can you meet me north of downtown near Harmony Tower. I have a surprise for you."

"Sure you got it." Korra hung up the phone, stood from her chair, and started to head out the door. "Guys I have to go. It was great seeing you both. Hope you find a case Mako." The two brothers blink several times questioning what just happened.

Not wanting to waste too much time Korra shot up into the air with her glider staff the moment she exited the station. Soon Korra spotted the area she was requested to be at. It appeared to be a small walkway that ran against the river in front of Harmony Tower. The sun had begun to set when Korra at last arrived; its bright orange tint shined brightly against the water. She strolled down the path for a bit until she saw the person she had been uncontrollably pining for all day. Asami stood several yards away, leaning against one of the metal railings of the walkway, and staring out into the distance. With a quick sprint Korra made a direct line to her.

The woman barely noticed her coming before she found herself wrapped up in Korra's arms and lifted 3ft off the ground. Although she felt like her back was being crushed in the hug, Asami couldn't help but smile at the reaction she received. Once Korra put her down, Asami gave her a subtle peck on the cheek. "Hello beautiful. I have something to show you." She grabbed Korra by the hand and lead her down towards a floating dock.

As they got closer to the water Korra saw a small boat that appeared to be in the shape some sort of bird. "What's that?"

"It's a turtle duck" Asami said with a gentle grin on her face.

"Where did you get it" Korra asked.

"I rented it. It's ours for the entire evening." Korra was beaming with joy. Asami noticed this and put a hand around her girlfriend's waist. "You want to go for a ride."

Korra turned to her with a deep smile, and a bright shine in her eyes. "I'd love to ride in a giant turtle duck with you."

They both climbed aboard, and Korra did a little waterbending to get the boat moving. When she sat down. Asami grasped her hand and said "I'm sorry about last night. I should have said something, but I just couldn't think of anything by the time Pema pulled me away."

"It's alright. I was getting tired of you kicking my back in your sleep anyway."

"I'll kick you right now if you're not careful." She then lunged at her, and the two wrestled about for a little bit making the boat rock back and forth; it almost tipped over. After Asami got Korra in an arm bar, they immediately called for a truce. They sat together quietly for a couple minutes, listening to the waves crash against the boat, and enjoying each other's company. However, Asami's facial expression eventually became slightly nervous. "Korra I want to ask you something." She turned to Asami and nodded to show that she was listening. "I'm sure as generous as Pema and Tenzin may be, they are probably not going to let me take permanent residence at the air temple. Which is why I was wondering...if you'd like to move into the mansion with me."

Korra was then the one who became nervous. "Asami I'd love to, but Tenzin and I talked this morning." Noticing her girlfriend's confusion, Korra responded "He knows now. And he thinks you and I, regardless of how much we care about each other, can't be attached to each other's hip all the time. We need time to go off and do our own things once in awhile." She said it as plainly as she could. However, she didn't believe what she was saying. The whole day, regardless of what she did, Korra could not get Asami out of her head.

Asami contemplated what she had been told, and then with yet another grin she took both of Korra's hands into hers. "Well he's right, we need to have the ability to go off alone and take care of our own business. However, when I come home at night, I don't want to be alone. I want you there greeting me with a smile, a hug, and a kiss. And if you happen to come home later than me than I will do the same for you, because I love you Korra and I don't want to lose you." Asami said this with such a fiery passion that here love for Korra was deeply evident in the tone of her voice, but Korra witnessed something else. Within her eyes there was that look that could only be described as the loss of a loved one. That's when Korra remembered Asami's parents and how they were both gone now.

Pulling one of her hands free of Asami's grasp, Korra placed it onto her shoulder. "Hey, you're never going to lose me. I love you too much to ever hurt you like that."

There was a small choke in Asami's voice. "Do you promise?"

Korra then stood upright in the boat, nearly rocked it over, held a hand over her heart, and spoke in a loud triumphant voice. "I Avatar Korra solemnly pledge to always be at the side of one Asami Sato."

Witnessing what was happening in front of her, Asami entered a laughing fit from seeing how ridiculous her girlfriend was acting. Through her laughter she was able to mutter one question. "Does that mean you'll come live with me?"

Korra continued on, and pretended she had not been addressed. "If she so desire I will gladly take quarter in her homestead to guard and protect her till my very last breath."

"Let's hope your last breath doesn't come far before mine." Asami grabbed Korra by the arm, and pulled her downwards in order to give her a soft kiss. Korra fell back into the seat, satisfied with her speech and its subsequent reward. Asami curled up into her, and the both drifted through the water past Harmony Tower entwined in each other's embrace. They didn't care if anyone saw what they did, for that moment was purely for them. However, there was one onlooker a short distance away observing from the pier who was shocked at what he saw. He didn't know what to do or what to think, but now Mako had a small clue on what was going on with his two ex girlfriends.

Author's Notes: It looks like two girls have some explaining to do. I wonder how dear Mako will respond. And before I get too many Mako bashing accusations, I will do my best to represent his character properly. However, keep in mind that I told you guys from the get go that this story featured people reacting a way you wouldn't expect them to. As always review or comment if you so choose. If you have any questions or concerns please PM me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Did he see that right? Mako sat in silence within his apartment staring blankly at the wall. Only three hours ago he witnessed his two friends cuddling together in a Turtle-Duck Boat. At one point he even thought he saw them share a kiss. Mako had a feeling something was going on between them, but he never imagined like this. Suddenly a loud knocking was heard at the door. He slowly got up from his couch and walked to the door. When he opened it Bolin barged into the room in a wild tizzy. "What's going on? What's happened? Are you ok?"

Mako walked back across the room and plopped down on the couch. "Yea I'm fine."

Bolin let out a deep exhale, fell against the wall, and slid down to the floor. "Oh thank goodness. I was worried there for a second. You sounded so urgent on the phone."

"Well this is kind of urgent. It's about Korra and Asami..."

At that moment Bolin shot back up with an immeasurable enthusiasm "Did they tell you already? That's great, I'm glad their spreading the news."

This time Mako jumped to his feet. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

The excitement that Bolin had just eagerly shown quickly faded away. "Ok from your reaction I'm now guessing they didn't tell you."

Mako stormed over to his window and stared out into the dark night. "So what I saw was true. Korra and Asami are together." He then turned back and peered accusingly at Bolin as the pieces started to fit into place. "And you already knew."

Bolin raised his hands up in defense. "Ugh yea, but very very newly. I only found out last night."

"So when you and Korra visited the headquarters earlier, the both of you just chose not to say anything about this to me?" Mako's tone was getting louder and louder.

Bolin realized he had to deescalate the situation soon before anything got out of hand. "Korra told me before we came over that she and Asami wanted to talk to you about their relationship together. They had every intention on telling you, it just wasn't the right time." Mako did not smile or exhale a sigh o relief, he only turned away from his brother and once again started staring at the wall. Bolin began to become concerned. "Bro are ok?"

"Am I supposed to be?" Mako snapped still not looking at Bolin. His voice then suddenly dropped down to a quiet mummer, almost like he was talking to himself. "I mean I love those girls, they're my closest friends. All I want is for them to be happy, but I never thought it would require this."

"Mako, why are you talking like this?" The seed of worry within Bolin was growing even larger. "Do you think there's something wrong with them being together?"

"Do you not?"" The frustration in Mako's voice had returned, and a majority was aimed at his brother. "Korra and Asami are both girls, they shouldn't be...mingling like that."

Bolin shot Mako a confused glare. "Mingling? I don't think they've actually gotten much farther than a kissing." He then raised a finger to his chin as he remembered something from before. "Although there was mention about a hot spring, but that's not the point. Regardless of their gender, those two deserve to date whoever they like."

"Bolin, it's not natural" Mako continued to argue. "I'm most surprised about Korra, I thought being the Avatar she'd be more inclined to not do anything that creates imbalance."

That last statement really surprised Bolin. "Mako, why are you so mad about this?"

Mako sighed. He knew that he had gotten his brother worried, and that he should at the very least provide an explanation for his current state of mind. "I'm not mad, and before you get ahead of me I'm not disappointed either. I'm just in deeply confused right now. A week ago I told Korra that I would always have her back, and I meant it. But this choice she's made along with Asami, I can't agree with it. I'm stuck choosing between my beliefs and the promise I made, and I don't know what to do.

Bolin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're not serious are you? Korra and Asami are our friends. We need to support them, especially with stuff that makes them happy. For you to even question it, is really selfish."

At that point Mako had enough with trying to calmly explain his feelings, he wasn't going to hold back any longer. "No Bolin, what's selfish is assuming that I would be perfectly fine with something this controversial, and expecting me to throw away all my opinions just because I'm told I'm supposed to."

Bolin, however, was not going to back down either. He stood his ground, and came right back at Mako. "When it involves two of our closest friends, that is exactly what I expect."

"I'm sorry, but I just need more time than that." Before Bolin could respond Mako's personal telephone, which sat on a table across the room, started to ring. After a brief second to recompose himself, Mako picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey Mako, what's going on?" It was Asami on the other line, and she sounded excited.

The irony of this call ripped deep into Mako, however, he couldn't give away that he already knew what was going on. Despite how he felt he wasn't going to go into a debate over the phone. So instead he continued to play it cool. "Not much I'm just here with Bolin."

"Oh good, I'm glad he's there too. Listen Korra and I are at the mansion right now. Do you want to come over? We can eat, chat about life, the whole nine yards. What do you think?"

Mako silently grinded his teeth. "I'd love to, but I'm actually kind of swamped with paperwork I have to fill out."

"Really?" Her voice was slightly confused. "Korra told me you weren't very busy when she came to see you today."

"Well Chief Beifong kind of hammered me down after she left." He knew she probably wouldn't believe that story, but it was the best thing that came to mind.

There was a quiet pause on the other end, and after a few moments Asami spoke up again. "Alright I guess. What about Bolin?"

Mako looked over at his brother who was standing at a loss for what was going on. "I think he'd be more than happy to stop by. Thanks for the invite." Before Asami could speak any further he placed the phone back down to hang up. He then made a subtle glance over to Bolin as he once again plopped down on the couch. "Asami invited you to her mansion."

"I'm not stupid, I know she invited you too." Mako did not respond or make any indication that he was going to deny it. However, this only frustrated Bolin more. "Are you really going to resort to hiding away from them?"

Tired of the back and forth arguing, Mako dryly retorted. "You better go now or it'll be really late before you make it over there."

Seeing that he wasn't going to get any further with his brother, Bolin did what he was told and made his way to the door, But right as he went out he turned back to Mako one last time and said "I know you're confused, but that doesn't give you the right to be a jerk." Without another word Bolin stormed out, and made his way towards the Sato Estate.

It was quite dark outside, all the residents of Republic City were either in bed or further downtown partying. All that illuminated Bolin's path was the lightly lit street lamps that lined every other block.. But as he came closer to his destination, the area around him slowly started to grow brighter? The lights beaming from the inside of Asami's mansion were so luminous that one could see them a mile away. Bolin thought it very amusing that one estate could create such an effect. The front gate was already open, so he didn't have trouble getting in. He made the steady climb up the staircase, and used the giant knocker hanging from the door. It didn't take long for the door to swing open revealing Asami wearing ruffled up hair, no makeup, and what appeared to be pajamas. "Welcome Bolin, glad you could make it."

"I like the natural look" He commented as casually stepped inside.

Surprised at the sudden compliment Asami slightly blushed. "Thanks, since we're not going out anywhere I figured what's the harm in getting a little comfortable. Also thank you once again for coming over."

"Any reason to visit your big house is a good reason to me."

Asami chuckled. "Well it's not just mine anymore."

Confused Bolin asked "What do you mean?"

"Follow me and I'll tell you." Asami grabbed him by his wrist and began to pull him along. The two made their way to the kitchen where they found Korra searching through the cabinets wearing only a tank top and her undergarments.

She heard someone walk in, but she hadn't paid attention to who it was. "Asami, weird question, do you have any polar bear dog treats? Naga was sniffing around, and she kind of started to eat one of your shrubs." Korra then heard a bellowing laugh that did not belong to Asami. She turned around to see Bolin with an ear to ear grin. "What the?" She immediately jumped behind the counter. "Asami why didn't you tell me Bolin was here?"

Asami, however, shrugged at the the young woman. "I told you earlier that we might be expecting guests."

Korra kneeled even further behind the counter trying to protect as much of her modesty as possible. "Yea, but you could have told me that they had arrived."

Bolin's happy expression then suddenly dropped. "Sadly it's just me, Mako was a little busy."

Asami quickly ran to an adjacent room, and returned with a pair of beige hued pants and handed them to Korra. "Here you go dear." As she put them, Asami turned back to Bolin and said. "I wish Mako could have come, he's one of the few people left that doesn't know."

Small beads of sweat started to build on Bolin's forehead, and he forced himself to make an awkward smile. "Yea, he is completely oblivious, no hint whatsoever, totally in the dark."

Both woman could see right through him. "Bolin, what are you hiding from us?"

Bolin panicked even more, his hands slightly shamed and he began to stammer. "What? That's such a weird thing to say. That's a crazy thing to think about. I have no idea why I would hide anything ever. Why would you think I'm hiding something from you?"

Korra stepped forward and got face to face with Bolin. "I think the more puzzling question is, why did you think you were going to be able to get away with keeping something from us?"

He could feel the heat from Korra's eyes beating down on him and couldn't keep it hidden any longer. "Mako knows."

"What" Korra and Asami exclaimed in shock.

"He apparently saw you two...ugh...interacting with one another in a turtle-duck boat earlier in the night. Which is why he didn't come, because..."

"Because he didn't like what he saw" Korra interrupted.

Asami knew this scenario all to well, and she quickly grew concerned for her girlfriend. "Korra are you..."

However, she waved Asami off mid sentence with a smile. "I'm good." Korra then turned back to Bolin. "What did he say?"

"That he doesn't know how to feel about it. That he feels like he's having to choose between his friends and his beliefs."

"His beliefs" Korra repeated as though she didn't understand what the phrase meant. She didn't get upset or show even the slightest sign of tearing up. She simply grinned to herself and said "I believe in something too. I believe that I have the right to love whoever I want, regardless on if they happen to be a girl." Korra then walked over to Asami and grabbed her by the hand. "You know what, I'm done trying to appease people. If they have a problem with me and Asami, then they can kiss my ass."

Asami placed a gentle kiss on Korra's cheek, which subsequently made her turn a deep shade of red. "Same goes for me. I wish Mako didn't feel the way he does, but as Korra eloquently put it we are done bowing to the opinions of others. We make each other happy, we don't need anyone else's approval."

Bolin gave a sigh of relief to see that his friends were not upset. "Well even so, you'll always have mine and Opal's support. We love you guys for who you are; no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

The girls both embraced him in a tight hug, and Korra spoke up to say "It's really nice having a friend like you Bolin."

The three friends spent most of the night relaxing, eating a meal that Asami had prepared for them, and talking about each other's lives at one of dinning tables. Suddenly Bolin brought up a topic that he remembered from earlier in the day. "Hey Korra, did you figure out a way to spy on Raiko?"

"By the way, I'm so sorry I didn't join you this afternoon when you went to see him" Asami apologized.

"It's ok, the avatar still remembers how to intimidate without assistance." Korra then gave Asami a wink, which made the young woman feel a little better. "To answer your question Bolin, no I haven't thought of anything yet. I was hoping I could simply observe him, but Mako was right. Even though Raiko may be double handed, he still is the president, and I can't just accuse him of something if he's not actually commuting a crime."

Bolin began to slowly clap. "Wow, I'm impressed. The Korra I knew would have gone in, smashed all the construction equipment, and asked questions later."

Korra gave a subtle nod, and smiled. "I've learned there are better ways to do things than to resort to violence. This city deserves somebody who can keep it safe, while at the same time not infringing on anybody's rights."

"Spoken like a true position" Bolin teased.

Asami eyes widened and she snapped her fingers. "Bolin you're a genius. That's what we're going to do."

Confused Korra looked back at her girlfriend and asked "What are we going to do?"

Asami then stood up tall from her seat, and pointed her index finger down at her. "Avatar Korra, you are going to run for President of Republic City."

"I'm gonna what?" Korra nearly fell out of her seat. "Asami I can't do that."

"Sure you can, you'll have the complete financial backing of Future Industries and its CEO. Also if you're worried about your popularity, I'm sure your approval rating went up significantly after your contribution in the defense of Republic City against Kuvira's invasion." Asami could see that her girlfriend was becoming quite worried and nervous. So, she decided to throw away the theatrics. She sat back down in her chair, took her girlfriend's hands into her own, and looked softly into her eyes. "Korra listen, this is only meant to give us a more firm motive to investigate. If you're running opposite against him you'll have a reasonable cause to find out what his programs are and what all they entail."

Korra thought about it for a few moments, and then suddenly a look of realization came on her face. "It'll also give the people of Republic City an opportunity to choose how they want their access to the portal to be dictated. That was my main concern about it. I just want them to have the right to choose what they want." She then placed a finger to her chin as though she were contemplating something. "However, at the same time we need to make sure that there aren't alternative reasons for Raiko's interest in the portal."

Bolin then spoke up once again. "I know I asked this earlier, but why do you suspect him of doing anything shady?"

Korra chuckled at her friend's curiosity. "He may occasionally be a jerk, but Raiko loves this city and will do anything for it. However, in the past he's proven to make some rash decisions, because he thought he had the city's best interest at heart. I just want to make sure this isn't one of those occasions."

"You know what, that actually makes a lot of sense" Bolin exclaimed now understanding the full picture.

"Why do you sound surprised" Korra asked slightly offended.

Bolin laughed at his friend, until he got a faint glance at the clock hanging on the wall. "Oh goodness it's getting kind of late, I should probably start heading out. Korra would you like me to walk with you for awhile on your way back to the air temple?"

A sly grin grew on Korra's face, and without taking eyes off of Bolin she called out to Asami. "You didn't tell him yet did you?"

Also not looking away from the boy in front of her Asami responded "Honestly I thought he would have figured it out when he walked in on you with no pants on."

Bolin was deeply bewildered by this back and forth. "Wait am I missing something?"

Asami stood up from her seat once again, and slowly strolled over to him. "Bolin remember what I said about this not only being my place anymore?"

A wide smile suddenly grew on his face. "You're inviting me to come live you? Oh my goodness, this is all so sudden. I don't think Opal will mind me staying here considering your such a good friend, and you're already taken. But what about Korra, how does she feel about this?"

Both women facepalmed, and Korra shouted. "Bolin, I'm living with Asami now."

Asami attempted to take a softer tone. "It's one of the main reasons why we invited you. Korra and I wanted to celebrate taking this next step together with you and Mako."

As Bolin started to connect all the dots, another realization came upon him. "You wanted to reunite Team Avatar, but Mako is acting like a jerk."

Asami raised a hand to soothe the tension. "Once again we're not upset with him. In time we're sure he'll come around."

"Let's hope so." Bolin said this not as a belief, but more of a hope. "I guess on that note I better leave. You two have fun in your new living arrangements."

"We will." The girls waved good bye to him, and waited at the table until they heard the front door slam. They then both exhaled out of exhaustion. Asami turned to Korra and asked. "You ready for bed?"

"Yea I kind of am" Korra said as she slowly stretched and began to yawn.

Asami put her hands together and smiled. "Good, I sat the blanket and pillow out on the couch."

"Haha very funny Asami." They walked down the halls, and Korra was surprised when Asami walked past the staircase and continued into the the living room. Korra followed close behind, and when she entered the room she saw a giant blanket and pillow laying neatly folded in the corner of a very slim couch. "Wait, you're actually making me sleep on the couch?"

"No, we're sleeping on the couch. Last night we didn't get to sleep together, and we were far apart in completely different rooms. So, to make up for that I want us to be as close as possible tonight, and what better way than us cuddling together on a very slim couch." Without another word Korra leaped to the couch making the pillow and blanket fall to the floor. Asami giggled and causally picked them back up again. She sat down next to Korra, and wrapped the blanket around the two of them. They then slowly laid down on their sides with Asami making herself comfortable behind Korra by draping her arm over her waist. Asami's hot breath prickled the back of Korra's neck as she whispered."See, isn't this nice."

A small blush bloomed on Korra's cheeks as she was beginning to feel the warmth of Asami's body against hers. She enjoyed these little moments so much, where it was just the two of them and nothing else in the world mattered. Korra felt like she could melt right into Asami's embrace. She was in utter bliss, and with a gentle exhale she said "This is so nice. Asami have you ever had a bad idea?"

"Yea once, but it was more of a choice than an idea." Asami's voice was not joyful like it was moments before, it was full of somber and a twinge of pain. This sudden shift in tone snapped Korra from her daze. "The worst decision I ever made was not joining you at the South Pole three years ago."

Korra rolled over in order to look at Asami, and she immediately spotted the small tear droplets hanging at the edge of her eyes. "Asami..."

"I saw how badly you were hurt, and I didn't do anything to help you." Asami's face was full of grief.

Korra placed a hand onto her girlfriend's cheek in order to comfort her. "What are you talking about. Asami you wrote to me practically every two weeks."

"But I should've been there with you. I know you told me to stay, but I should've gone anyway."

Korra knew Asami felt guilty about not joining her during her recovery, but she had no idea it was to this degree. "Asami listen, if you came with me back then, who would have looked after Future Industries?"

"Korra don't you know you're more important to me than some stupid company?" Asami raised her voice almost to a yell. The last time she got this flustered at Korra was when she first came back to Republic City, and discouraged Asami from talking to her father.

Asami immediately regretted getting loud with Korra, especially when she she was only trying to make her feel better, but Korra didn't flinch. She continued to look her straight in the eye with the same love and compassion she had for the last two weeks. "You're wrong. Future Industries is your family's company, I know you would regret it every day of your life if you ever lost it. Trust me when I say that even though the last three years were rough on the both of us, through that time our relationship and our love for each other also grew."

That's when Asami's tears broke, and she nuzzled even closer to Korra. "I'm sorry."

Korra stroked her fingers through Asami's long dark hair. "Sorry for what?"

Asami had a difficult time speaking between sobs, but she was able to mutter "That there aren't enough words to express how much you mean to me."

Korra chuckled, and placed a small kiss on her forehead. "It doesn't matter. All I need to hear from you is three words."

Asami's bright smile returned. "I love you."

Author's Notes: Another one down. For those who were concerned, I hope I did a decent enough representation of Mako. I didn't want to paint him as an unreasonable jerk, but at the same I couldn't let him simply be fine with it. That's why I'm trying to portray a degree of uncertainty in him. He knows what he should do, but he just can't help himself feeling this way. Stick around for the next chapter to find out what's next for him and the girls. It seems like there may be a small presidential campaign brewing. As always you can leave a review or PM me with any comments, questions, or concerns. My only request is keep them pertaining to the story. I understand we all have differing opinions about this certain subject matter, howevever, I do not wish to see bashing on either side of the debate. If I see a negative comment that has nothing to do with critiqueing the story I will remove it. We are all people, and we don't need to be putting each other down.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Author's Notes: Back again. The last chapter garnered a huge response from all of you, both positive and negative, which I'm all for. I understand if you don't agree with the story I'm telling, or how I portray certain characters. You're the reader, and my soul duty is to entertain you. And if something doesn't seem to be going the way you thought it should, be patient. Believe it or not I'm not entirely heartless, and I want the best for all the characters. My second order of business is that recently I've received a few reviews that are registered under guest. Now my policy is that I PM to any reviews that contain concerns about the story, and I try to reassure my readers that I'm listening to what they think. However, I can't privately respond to guests, so what I'll do is answer you publicly for everybody to see just in case they were thinking the same things. If more than one person reviews under the title "guest" I'll label them numerically based from the earliest review to the latest.

Guest 1- I'm taking that into account. That's why I'm trying to put an inner struggle within Mako. He doesn't want to go against his promise, but he also doesn't want to betray what he believes. He's not like the others that Korra and Asami approached, there's going to be a lot more of a defined response with him.

Guest 2- She probably would, but your going to have to read on to find who will be the final decision on the presidential campaign. And I promise it will be different than what you guys expect.

rrtrt- Believe it or not I don't hate Mako. That's why I'm trying to have him explain his thoughts and feelings. I agree that he gets kind of short strawed in the end, and I promise that he will get his closure, but first he has to work through the fact that his two exes are now dating.

A falling sun illuminated the inside of the training gym. It was mostly empty except for a sole man working himself out on a punching bag. He lead with a right jab straight into the bag., then quickly followed with a low left roundhouse. The bag hardly moved taking every blow Mako produced. He gave a hook to the top right of the bag, and thrusted his knee into it's center. Each strike ignited a small piece of emotion in him. No matter what he did he couldn't get those girls out of his head. As he continued to beat down his target the veins in his arms flared. Soon his strikes no longer had a pattern to them, Mako simply pounded aggressively against it. One punch after the other filled with frustration. Finally Mako arched his arm way back and put all his force into one punch. Just as his fist makes contact, the bag instantly is engulfed in flame.

Suddenly a voice called out from across the gym. "I understand some people say you have to work until you feel the burn, but I'm not sure that's what they meant." Mako turned to see his Boss, Chief Lin Beifong, striding over to him.

Heavily panting from his outburst, Mako grabbed a towel that was laying on the floor and wiped his face with it. "What are you doing here?"

Lin put her hands on her hips, and shot Mako a chilling glare. "You know I probably should be asking you that, considering you didn't show up to work all this week."

Mako knew where this was headed, and he wasn't really interested in discussing it in too much detail yet. He simply turned away and started to walk towards a boxing ring a short distance away. "I'm sorry. Some things came up, and I've been having a hard time dealing with them."

Lin however, was not going to be shooed away so easily. She followed close behind him, and sat atop the side of the apron when they reached the ring. "Well as your boss I would be inclined to say just suck it up and do your job, but as your friend I feel obligated to help you out." She then patted a spot right beside her on the apron. "So take a squat kid, and tell me what's been eating at you."

With an exhausted sigh Mako complied and sat next to Lin. "It's about Korra and Asami. Recently I found out about a secret they shared, and I don't necessarily agree with it."

"What kind of secret was it" The veteran chief asked.

Mako was about to explain, but right as the words were about to come out he decided to bite his tongue. "It's not my place to spread it around. If they want certain people to know they'll tell them. I only found out about it by accident. Just keep in mind that it was something big."

"Well can you at least tell me what about this secret has got you so mad?"

Mako was beginning to become annoyed at these continued accusations. "I'm not mad."

"I think that punching bag would beg to differ." Lin then pointed at the now smoldering pile of ash sitting in the middle of the gym floor. This however did not shake Mako resolve. Because of this, Lin's patience was also starting to run thin. "Alright if you're not mad, than what is it that you're feeling?"

"Frustration." He didn't know where that word came from, it just fell out. However, somehow it felt quite accurate when being said.

Glad she was finally making progress, Lin continued her questioning. "Are you frustrated with Korra and Asami?"

"No with myself." Mako was even more surprised that he said this, yet it still did not feel like a lie. He faced away from Lin trying to avoid her stare. "It's hard to explain."

Lin was never really good at heart to hearts, but with Mako she felt like he at least deserved for her to try. "Kid, whatever this is about, you should not beat yourself up over it. Friends are going to have arguments, that's practically a given in life. But those squabbles tend to almost always work out, because your real friends won't let opposing opinions get between them."

Mako still did not budge in his expression. He remained in his neutral emotion that lied between calm and furious. "The thing is I don't think we're really even in an argument Lin, and frankly I don't even know what I'm supposed to say to you if there was one."

She could tell that she wasn't truly getting through to him. Because of this, she figured it would be best to send him to someone who could. "That's completely fine, because I'm not the one who needs to hear about it. You say you have no grievances with those girls, and yet you do everything you can to keep your distance from them. If there is anyone who needs an explanation from you, it's Korra and Asami."

Mako looked away again as though he was going into a deep thought. He hadn't seen either of the girls in over a week, let alone spoken to them.

At that same moment within the Sato Estate, Asami was doing a little bit of her own work out by sparring with the young airbender Ikki in one of her training room dojos. "Hold your hands up, you don't want to give your opponent an opening to your face." She jabbed straight on, lightly grazing the side of Ikki's cheek. "Watch your footing at all times. It's good to keep moving and dancing around your opponent in order to keep them guessing." However, just as the little girl picked up the pace and started to lift her legs, Asami dropped down, extended her foot out, and sweeped Ikki to the ground. The young woman then did a kip up, and looked down at the bewildered girl and smiled. "But you don't want to be so light footed that you can easily be tripped." Asami then offered a hand to help her up.

Ikki accepted the assistance, and pulled herself back to her feet. "This is all great, but when do I learn how to beat people up."

Asami placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled. "If your defense is good enough, your opponent will beat themselves up trying to hit you."

Sitting against one of the walls in the room with Jinora, Meelo, and baby Rohan in her lap Korra called out to Asami. "Hey, sweetheart how bout you try not hurting the kids we're supposed to be babysitting."

Asami faced her and cackled. "Did I hear that right? The mighty Avatar Korra has an actual objection to fighting."

"When it's the difference between Tenzin yelling at me or not, you bet I object."

With a mocking nod, Asami looked back down at Ikki. "Fine than. We will continue your lessons later." The two girls then walked over to join the group while wiping down with some towels. Ikki moved in front of Meelo while Asami sat closely next to Korra. On close inspection she noticed that the little boy sitting in her girlfriend's lap was beginning to wiggle around. "Dear, do you want me to hold Rohan for a little bit."

"He hasn't given me too much trouble, but if you want to tag in I'm not gonna stop you." Korra handed the young lad off, and proceeded to stretch her legs.

Jinora was carefully watching the women in front of her, she was intrigued at how they talked and interacted with on another. It was at that moment that she decided to speak up. "Umm, would it be rude if I asked you two a question?"

"Of course not Jinora, go ahead" Asami lightly responded as she stood up and playfully bounced Rohan in her arms.

"When did you two realize that you cared about one another" Jinora blurted out.

The two woman were taken aback, up until now they had never been inquired about the origin of their love. Never the less, they were more than willing to explain. Asami was the first to speak. "Well we've always cared about one another, just like we've always cared about the four of you. However, if you're asking how we fell in love that's a different story entirely."

Korra then stepped towards the children, and kneeled in front of them to explain in more detail. "I got my first inkling about how I felt about Asami amidst our back and forth letters for those three years we were apart."

Asami put Rohan back on the ground so he could run around room. She then placed a hand on Korra's shoulder, and smiled down at her. "Mine was when I first saw you in your wheelchair, and all I felt was the desire to be there for you." Korra reached up and clasped onto her hand. She could feel a deep warmth encasing her fingers. It felt good to openly talk about Korra and herself. In a way it gave Asami a sensation of release and freedom. This however, also sparked a curiosity within her. "By the way, why did you want to know Jinora?"

The young girl slightly flinched at the question. "Oh no reason."

Ikki then jumped in front of her sister and exclaimed "It's because Kai told her that he loved her, and she didn't know if she should say it back."

Now fully understanding what Jinora's curiosity was about, Korra asked "When he told you, did you say it back?" A deep blush took over Jinora's cheeks and she shook her head. "Do you love him" Korra continued to inquire. Jinora appeared panic, she tried to speak but no words would come out. All that could be heard was semi-audible vowels and clicks of the tongue. Soon she began to panically look around the room and avoid eye contact with the two woman.

Doing her best to calm the young girl down, Asami grabbed both sides of her arms and started to soothingly rub them. "Jinora don't you worry about any of this. You should never say I love you unless you actually mean it."

Although very heartfelt, instead of being relaxed, Jinora only became more confused. "But didn't both of you say you loved Mako."

This caught both Korra and Assami off guard. They didn't quite know the right way to respond. However, whether good or bad Korra did manage to come up with an answer. "We did and we still do. Despite popular belief you can fall in love with more than one person. For me Mako was my first love, and I cared about him very deeply. In a small way I continue to feel that way, however, along the way we found that it just wouldn't work out between us."

"Because you actually liked girls" Meelo piped in as he was picking some dirt out of his finger nails.

Korra couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows at that comment. "No, it's because we just didn't click like we should have."

Even though she thought it was cute how blunt Meelo was, Asami still felt it was necessary to point out something. "Korra and I don't only like girls, we like boys too."

Meelo's eyes instantly widened, and he air jumped 6ft in the air. "Yes! That means I still have a chance."

Seeing the rejuvenated hope within the young boy, Korra grew jealous. She stepped up to Meelo and peered down at him menacingly. "Not while I'm around." She hoped this was enough to scare him away.

"Did we have fun today" a smiling Tenzin asked as he walked into the room. "Miss Sato I hope you don't mind me just barging in like this. It's just I noticed your door was unlocked, you really should be more careful about that.

"No worries, as of late I've had all the protection I need." She then reached over to once again grab Korra's hand.

"Kids why don't you go wait outside for me" Tenzin requested. He then turned back to the girls. "Anyway, thank you again for looking after the children today. Things have been really busy for me with the council lately."

Asami snapped her fingers. "That reminds me Korra, we need to go through all the Republic City bylaws tonight."

Puzzled Tenzin asked "Why are you doing that?"

With a proud smile Asami pointed her thumb at her girlfriend. "Korra is running for president."

Tenzin was not quite as visually excited. "She is?" He looked over to Korra who didn't show any change in emotion.

Asami, however, didn't notice either of their strange expressions. "Yea we plan to give Raiko a run for his money. The only thing is we need to figure out..." Suddenly a loud crash is heard outside. This easily pulled Asami's attention away. "That can't be good. I'm gonna go out and check on the kids. I'll be right back."

Once Asami was gone, Tenzin turned to the remaining girl and sternly uttered. "Korra..."

She held up her hands to interrupt. "Before you say anything, I already know."

"Then why are you going through with it?" Tenzin did not seem pleased about this me development with Korra in the slightest. "You know the Avatar is not allowed to hold any positions of power."

Korra, however, did the best she could to defend herself. "Well I planned to act as the figure head, make Asami Vice President, then have her take over later on. I wouldn't rule over anyone, and I'd get to the bottom of my investigation."

Tenzin was beginning to grow frustrated. "Korra, you may think you've found a loophole, but this is not a field you want to play around with. I realize you want to be treated like a normal girl sometimes, but you are still the Avatar and there are still rules you have to follow."

"I know. I just thought it would be..."

"Thought it would be what?" Tenzin interrupted, desperate to understand why his pupil was willingly making this decision.

Korra took one last deep breath before explaining. "I thought it would be a good opportunity to show the people how well Asami and I work together." At that moment Tenzin began to understand what she was telling him. "We'd get them used to the idea of us being partners. Then when the time is right, we come out publicly as a couple."

Tenzin chuckled. "Even after all these years you can still surprise me." Korra couldn't help to blush "But I'm still curious on why you would want go through all that trouble. Wouldn't it be easier to just simply come out."

"Telling friends and family is one thing, but opening yourself up to a bunch of opinionated strangers is another. It's not bad if one person says something, but when you're listening to an entire group scream the same belittling words, you get hit a little harder. That's why I thought if we ease everybody into it, there wouldn't be so much of a backlash. Asami and I know and accept who we are, but that doesn't mean we like swimming with the piranha sharks."

Still curious, Tenzim continued to question Korra. "Is there a reason why your keeping this from Asami?"

Korra's expression became nervous and discouraged. "For the last three weeks we've been trying to support each other as we told all of you about us. We each had moments where our emotions got the better of us, but we both were always there to comfort the other. However, for me I still feel like I didn't do enough. Last week we were laying next to each other getting ready to go to sleep, then suddenly Asami began to cry. Without going too deep in detail I did my best to console her, and for the most part I thought I did. But when she finally fell asleep, I could hear her moaning in a woeful pain. I saw deep down that she was still hurting inside, and I couldn't fix it." Suddenly tears started to form in Korra's eyes, and she tried to wipe them away before Tenzin saw. However, Korra found she had no such luck when she was immediately embraced within a tight hug by the man who had been like a second father to her. This only made her cry more. "I just want her to feel safe and comfortable around me again. I want her to know that I don't care about those three years she wasn't with me in the South Pole. I want her to trust that I'm standing with her now, and there's nothing changing that."

"Korra I already know all of that." Korra broke free of Tenzin's hold and turned around to see Asami standing in the doorway also with tears in her eyes. "I thought you couldn't be any kinder of a person, and then you pull something like this. Why didn't you tell me? I would have listened, I would have understood."

The words struggled to escape Korra, she was so overtaken with emotion that it took a great deal of effort for her to speak. "You've built me up as this amazing person in your eyes, someone who could do anything. I just didn't want to disappoint you."

Almost leaping towards her Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's neck. "You could never disappoint me. I promise we'll find a replacement."

Korra's eyes widened. "Wait, replacement? Are you not wanting to do it?"

"Korra I may be a great engineer and businesswoman, but I'm no leader." Asami then intertwined her fingers with one of Korra's hands. "Besides I wouldn't want to do it without you."

Almost like clockwork, Asami brought a smile back to Korra's face. She wiped away the last tear in her eye, and returned to her cheerful determined demeanor. "Ok, I guess we'll look for somebody else."

Once again inserting himself, Tenzin stepped beside the ladies. "Excuse me Korra, but would you mind if I spoke privately with Asami for a few minutes."

Korra was oddly confused at this request. "What about?""

Asami, however, reassured her. "Hey, don't worry I'm sure it's something important. Why don't you go wait outside with the kids we'll come out when we're done."

Still not certain Korra looked back and forth between the two, until Asami gave her a confident wink. "Ok, I'll be outside if you need me." The two girls gave each other a parting peck on the lips before she officially left the room.

Asami watched Korra step out, while Tenzin moved behind and placed a hand on her shoulder. Everything was fine until Adami felt an uncomfortable sharp pain in that particular shoulder. "Ugh, Tenzin your grip is kind of tight."

"What are your plans with Korra?" His voice was quite stern. Similar to how it was when he interrogated Korra.

"My plans?" She didn't quite understand what he meant.

"How far do you expect on taking your relationship with her."

Shocked at the accusation, Asami pulled away from his hold and looked upon him with confusion. "Tenzin, I thought you were fine with me and Korra dating."

"Oh I am, but that doesn't mean I'm giving you any special treatment. For all intents and purposes Korra is my daughter now, and I'm going treat you like I would anyone else trying to date my children."

Asami was then able to connect the dots. "Oh, how...sweet."

"Yes it is. Now miss Sato can you please answer my prior question?" His voice remained unchanged, the same as his resolve towards this particular topic.

"About my plans with her?" Asami took a moment to think up a proper response. "Well we've been living together at the Sato Estate for about a week now. We both thought it was a good step forward."

"That's a good start, but living arrangements can easily be changed. Do you expect on solidifying your relationship anytime soon."

Asami's cheeks shot a deep shade of red. "Ugh, well sort of. You see in the Spirit World there was this hot spring..."

"Woah!" Tenzin's protective fatherly attitude was then broken as he quickly raised his hands to halt the ensuing explanation. "No no no, you misunderstood me. I wasn't talking about intimacy. I was referring to the other way couples solidify a relationship."

Along with a pinch of embarrassment Asami realized what he was talking about. She carefully took a glance over at the door to make sure Korra wasn't standing there, and then she looked back at Tenzin. "I thought about it, back when we were in the South Pole. I love Korra, and hopefully it'll eventually lead to that, but I think we are still too fresh as a couple to be considering such a commitment. We need time to grow and appreciate each other in our current relationship first."

A gentle smile grew on Tenzin's face. "That's the right answer."

Asami let out a sigh of relief. "You know you were really worrying me there."

"You did fine. You should have seen Kai when I grilled him."

Suddenly Korra's voice was heard calling out from the lobby by the front door . "Hey Asami you need to come out here, we have a visitor."

Asami didn't remember inviting anyone else over, she paced herself out of the dojo and down the hall towards the front lobby. As she approached Asami saw Korra standing with one of the doors wide open, and by the look on her face she appeared stunned to see whoever this was. Once Asami reached her, she looked over to see Mako standing right outside. He put on a nervous smile and raised his hand to wave. "Hey."

"Hello." Asami couldn't believe he was there in front of them. By this time she had simply assumed he had written the both of them off.

Mako could easily read the tension between the three of them, and he felt he should be the one to break it. "I...ugh...came to see you, the both of you:"

Asami saw how uncomfortable he was. "We appreciate the visit it's been awhile."

"Look Asami, you don't have to dance around it. I've been avoiding you two recently." The tone of Mako's was dire, he knew he needed to say something. "But the thing is I never gave you a reason why."

Korra spoke now. "Mako we know why, and it's ok. We understand that you feel a certain way about us being together."

"But you see that's not it" Mako exclaimed. This seemed to only confuse the ladies even more, so Mako decided to elaborate. "It's true that I don't agree with two girls being together, but that's not really what's been bothering me."

""Than what is it" Asami asked.

"I messed up my chance."

Still neither of the girls understood what he was talking about. Trying to make sense of it, Korra then asked "What chance are you talking about?"

"The chance to be with one of you." The confession fell out of Mako's mouth like a bag of sand. "I had an equal opportunity with the both you, but I messed up. I didn't appreciate what I had with you two until it was too late, and you had already ran into each other's arms."

"Mako, you did not push us away, or push us to be together." Aami tried to explain. "Korra and I discovered our feelings for each other on our own."

"Yea and just because it didn't work out, doesn't mean we didn't enjoy our time with you" Korra urged while placing a hand on the front of his shoulder. "You were my first relationship ever, and I'll always remember and look fondly on that."

"What we're trying to say is that we love you Mako, and we hope that you see that neither of us has changed."

A bright smile appeared on Mako's face. "Coming to see you today, I can tell you haven't. Don't get me wrong I still don't think it's right for you two to be dating, but you're my friends. Whether right or wrong I'll always stick by you, especially you Korra." Mako saw that this caught her attention, and he looked deeply into her eyes. "I made you a promise, and intend on keeping it."

A small measure of relief and joy returned to Korra hearing one of her closest friends once again tell her that. "I appreciate it, and you know what I think I might have something you can help me with."

"Korra I can't spy on the president without a reasonable cause" Mako once again stated.

"That's the thing. Asami and I thought of something that might give us reasonable cause." She the wrapped an arm around Asami's torso and pulled her in close to her. "We want someone to run against him in the upcoming election that can represent us."

"Can't one of you two do it" Mako asked slightly co fused about the plan.

Asami grimaced slightly and answered "Long story short, neither of us have the credentials to do so. We need someone who is charismatic, well liked throughout the city, and isn't the Avatar."

Mako contemplated for a few moments, soon an idea came to mind. "Actually I think I might know someone who can help us."

Author's Notes: It appears the dust has settled with Mako, or has it. I may not be done with him just yet. Just like the girls he still has to grow. Maybe now that he is getting mixed up in all the election talk there are some things that can be more fleshed out. Thank you those who trusted in the path I was taking with the character, and thank you even more to the readers who accused me of being s bias Mako hater. You guys had enough respect for him to know that he deserves more than being a bland throwaway love interest. Hopefully by next chapter you guys will officially know who is facing off with Raiko in the upcoming election. If you so choose please PM me or leave a review with any comments, critiques, or concerns.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Author's Notes: Hey guys, sorry it took a little longer to get this one out. I recently started going back to school and the work has really kept me busy. However, do not fret I have not, and do not plan on abandoning this story. As always I keep the progress meter on my profile up to date. It may be a little slower than it was in the summer, but I'm still keeping up with it. Other than that I hope the new chapter makes up for it.

Guest- You'll have to read to find out.

"Are you sure about this" Korra asked. She and Mako stood in the middle of the Republic City tarmac as a luxurious jet touched down a short distance away.

"Of course I am. Believe it or not he's perfectly qualified, and he'll love the attention." The two of them slowly approached the landed airship. Although he tried to appear positive, Mako couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. Last time he saw this man, he told Mako he wasn't too interested in leading anymore.

As the they slowly approached, a giant set of rolling stairs was brought right up to the exit door of the plane. Suddenly the door was thrown wide open, and with an exuberant vigor the former ruler of the Earth Kingdom, Prince Wu, came careening down the steps straight towards them. "Mako my buddy." The young detective was instantly wrapped in a tight embrace by the small statured prince. "How long has it been?"

"Ugh about a month." Mako was not comfortable with the hug nor the obvious amount of affection being shown towards him.

"That's way too long for best pals too be apart. Have you ever spent that much time away from somebody."

Mako couldn't help but smirk. "Yea, Korra was away for close to three years." He then gestured his head towards the woman standing next to him.

With a kind wave Korra said "It's good to see you again Prince Wu."

Wu released his grasp on Mako, then took ahold of her hand and placed it to his lips. "Korra, how is my sweet Avatar doing?"

Korra felt slightly awkward from the gesture, but she kindly returned a smile anyway. "I'm doing fine. How are things going in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Great, but it's not the Earth Kingdom anymore. It's now officially the United Collective Republic of Earth States."

"Wow that's a mouthful" Mako replied.

"I guess you could also call it the Earth Republic, but I think the other name had a little more flare. I came up with it myself." Wu then gave a cheeky smile while Korra and Mako glanced at each other in confusion.

They soon refocused themselves and Mako spoke again. "Regardless of what you call it, the initiative you took towards improving the welfare of the region is very admirable; especially when you had to give up your crown to do so. Do you still have any say in what happens around there?"

Wu placed a finger to his chin. "Well technically my word is no longer the end all be all, but I still have a little pull." He then waved off the thought. "I don't really care about using it though. I'm kind of serious about the people electing they're own leaders, and the responsibility not falling on one person. Right now we have an interim council looking over everything until we have our first election."

Korra began to chuckle to herself. "It's funny you say that, because that's kind of why we asked you here."

Wu was now confused. "Wait, so you didn't invite me to com back to Republic City for an emotional reunion between old friends? Then why am I here?"

Taking a deep breath Korra explained "Recently I've discovered a project being carried out by our president, Raiko, that defies the rights of the people within Republic City. I've already spoken to him about some of these issues, but it seems he is uninterested in hearing what I think or changing his stance on the project. Because of this I suspect there is more to it than he is letting on. I wished to investigate him, but that in itself has its own laws to follow. So that's when Asami and I got the idea to run against him in the upcoming election. As his opponent it gives us reasonable cause to look into the details of his affairs, and hopefully expose them. The only problem is that neither of us are able to run for office."

Mako then spoke up. "That's where you come in Wu. Korra and Asami would appreciate it if you would represent their interests as a figurehead candidate."

Wu looked back and forth between Korra and Mako, contemplating on how to respond. "So essentially you want me to look pretty in front of people while you guys do your covert stuff, and potentially get this man impeached if you find that everything is not on the up and up?"

"Basically" Korra spurted out bluntly.

Suddenly Wu started cackling in delight. He then smiled at the both of them and said "When do I start?"

A short distance away in the middle of Republic City, Asami sat in her office listening to one of her assistants lay down design ideas. "What do you think about this one mam?"

Asami stared at and analyzed the blue prints thoroughly. "It's a good concept Yori. I'm not sure if all the pieces are going to fit together like they do within the schematics, but you have an excellent idea right here. How bout you take it back for now, fine tune some of the details, and we can start developing a prototype within a few weeks."

Yori was ecstatic and grinning ear to ear; even though she tried not to seem too excited. "Sounds great, I can definitely get right on that. Thank you Ms. Sato."

"No problem, and oh by the way before you go," Asami hands her assistant a small piece of paper. "I'm looking into a potential project, but first I need some of these materials. Do you think you can get them for me?"

Yori looked over the surprisingly short list, and started to nod her head. "I can certainly try mam. I'll let you know if and when I find them."

"That's all I can ask. Thank you very much." Asami then watched Yori quickly leave the room. She sat down and began go through some papers she had laying on her desk. Each of them illustrated numbers and figures that Asami just wasn't in the mood to look at. Her mind was wandering onto other pressing issues, like how Korra and Mako's meeting with Wu was going. She really wanted to be there, but she couldn't shake her duties at Sato Industries too much. For a moment she glanced over at a framed picture on her desk of her, Korra, Bolin, and Mako. The photo was taken the day they all defeated Amon. Looking back it was almost funny to think of all the things that would happen to them and how their relationships would grow.

While she was deep in her melancholy, Asami barely heard Yori peek her head back into the office and say. "Ms. Sato, you have a visitor."

Asami's first thought was that it's Korra coming to tell her about Wu. "Send them in please" she instructed.

The assistant nodded and waved for the person to come in. To Asami's surprise it wasn't Korra coming to visit, but instead was the tall persona of President Raiko. "Hello Ms. Sato, I hope your work hasn't been too hectic as of late."

Asami tried to keep her composure, there was no reason to act guilty towards anything she hadn't done yet. "Good afternoon President Raiko. What brings you to my humble business today?"

The man casually hobbled around the room looking at different decorations and portraits on the walls. "Nothing major." He then caught a glimpse of the portrait on Asami's desk that she was previously staring at and then frowned. "At least I hope it won't turn out that way."

"I don't believe I understand what you mean."

Raiko turned away from Asami and walked over to look out the window, which overlooked a great majority of Republic City. "Recently some associates of mine have informed me that you and Avatar Korra are planning on running against me in the next election."

This caught Asami off guard. She thought they had been quite secretive about their planned campaign. She, however, continued to play it cool in order to not give anything away. "Will that be a problem sir, you having opposition?"

Raiko caught what Asami was trying to do, and he didn't miss a beat himself. He simply cracked a grin and looked back at her. "Oh certainly not, it wouldn't be fair to run unopposed. Besides, Republic City is a democracy and it's important that the people have the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons of multiple candidates. You see my problem lies with the fact that the Avatar herself is the one getting involved."

At that moment Asami was really confused. "Korra? What did she do?" The young CEO had no idea what this man was leading on about.

"Don't act dumb with me." He snapped back at her, instantly breaking his friendly politician act. "You know full well why she shouldn't be doing this."

Asami didn't like where this was going, but she had to see what was going on in this man's head. "Is it because she's the Avatar?"

"It's because she does not know how to lead" Raiko exclaimed. "How many times has Republic City been put in danger because of this naïve young woman?"

Now realizing what he was implying, Asami did not take a high favor to it. "And how many times has she saved the city from almost certain destruction. I can certainly name at least one instance in the last month." Her calm tone was was swiftly sliding away from her. Asami could feel the blood in her face starting to heat up. She kept thinking in her head that this man needs to choose his next words carefully, otherwise he's going to end up on the flat of his back.

"Ms. Sato it wouldn't need to be saved if that girl did not drag along trouble wherever she went."

Asami wanted so badly to break him down right then and there, but she knew shouldn't. So, while bitting her lip Asami forced a calm voice one last time. "President Raiko, I'm sorry but I will not allow you to insult one of my friends in my own building. If you don't mind, I'd kindly like to ask you to leave." She then pointed straight at the door, slightly more aggressive than she intended.

Raiko stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Very well." He started to walk towards the doorway, but then he stopped in the middle of the floor and turned his head back to Asamj; quite similarly to the way Korra did in his office a few weeks back. "It must be a great burden to be close to that woman. I pity anybody who attempts to become intimate with her." Without saying another word he continued out of the room.

Asami stood in silence for several seconds, unsure of how to process what just happened. Then out of nowhere she slammed her fist into the desk in front of her. Small trickles of blood emanated from in between her knuckles. She picked up the papers and designs she was previously reviewing over and threw them at the wall. She then ran forward and kicked at the wall. The sudden and uneven shove made Asami lose her footing and she fell backwards. As she went down Asami accidentally knocked the picture frame on her desk down with her. Now laying painfully on her back, Asami reached for the fallen portrait. The glass inside the frame had shattered and some of the pieces were scattered on the floor. However, what shook Asami most was that within the picture a small tear had gone down half off the photo. In the middle of the tear was her and Korra, and it gave the appearance that they were being split apart. The furry within Asami died down, and was quickly replaced with sadness. She was so tired of crying, but here she was in the middle of the floor with her eyes already starting to water.

At the air temple, Jinora and Kai sat together at the kitchen table discussing some of their own pressing issues. "Why won't you say it" Kai whispered.

"I...I just can't" Jinora choked out. "We're still young, we don't know how we really feel yet."

"We've been dating for a year now. Don't you think it's time?" Kai tried to keep his voice real low so no one else could hear what the couple was talking about.

Jinora was visibly uncomfortable, and she appeared to be unsure of what to say. "I just don't want to step too far before I'm ready, you know."

"What are you two yapping about." Pema called out as she came back into the kitchen carrying a giant brown sack.

Jinora turned a deep shade of pink. "Nothing mom. Kai and I were just making small talk."

"That's great, but would you two mind helping set the table?"

Kai took one last begging look at Jinora before standing up from his seat. "Of course not Pema, happy to help."

Pema pretended she didn't see that longing glare, and turned to her daughter. "Jinora can you go get more seats? We're gonna have some guests over."

Jinora nodded, went to an opposing room, and came back with two chair. "Mom when are we going to stop considering Korra and Asami guests? They eat over here almost every other night."

"When they start eating here every night. Besides I wasn't referring to them."

Confused Jinora asked "Than who were you talking about?"

At that moment Wu bursted into the room. "Hello airbending family. There's no more need to fret, your bestest friend Prince Wu is here."

Mako came trudging in behind him. "I see you still have your impeccable modesty" he sarcastically joked.

Korra was the last to come in, and she commented "Are you even still allowed to call yourself Prince Wu?"

"Of course I can. I may not be running the Earth Kingdom, but being called prince is my birthright." The entitled man child then swiftly slid into Jinora's usual seat, clapped his hands together, and licked his lips. "Anyway what are we having for dinner?"

"Vegetable dumplings, it's one of my specialties" Pema said with most of her focus on preparing the meal.

Korra then moved beside Pema in order to talk to her. "Hey Pema, can I ask you a favor?"

Still not taking her eyes off the food Pema replied "Of course Korra, what do you need?"

"Would you mind if I helped you cook? Our one month anniversary is coming up, and I was wanting to make something special."

"Anniversary" Wu spouted in surprise. "Mako you lucky dog. You didn't tell me you and Korra got back together."

The expression on Mako's face drooped down into near depression. "We didn't."

Realizing his mistake, Wu apologized "I'm sorry. It must stink to have your brother take the woman you love."

Mako managed to mutter a light chuckle at that one. "If only it was that simple."

"What do you mean" Wu asked still confused.

"I'm dating Asami." Korra explained wearing a slight blush on her cheeks.

Wu turned back to Mako with a look of shock and awe. "Your other ex?" Mako cringed a little at the reminder, he quickly composed himself and simply nodded. Wu noticed the brief moment of uncomfortableness, so he he stood up from his chair, walked around the table to Mako, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well at least it wasn't Kuivera."

Korra then turned back to Pema and asked "So what do you say?"

"I'd love your help, but the thing is I'm almost finished with the meal." A look of disappointment filled Korra's eyes, and Pema noticed it. "However, if you like I can show you a certain recipe later that might be good."

Korra's demeanor quickly lightened up. "Thank you so much Pema, I'll be sure to return the favor one day?"

"Korra do you mind if I ask you something" Kai asked while approaching her. He had just finished setting the table and still appeared anxious from before.

Turning her attention away from Pema, Korra answered "Sure what's up?"

"Have you told Asami that you love her?" This question raised everyone's attention, including Jinora's.

Korra peered over Kai's shoulder to see the worried look in her eyes. She knew what Kai was trying to do, and Korra could see in Jinora's face how unready she was. So instead of being honest, Korra decided to make a point. "No Kai I haven't. Don't get me wrong, I really do care about her, but I don't want to put pressure on Asami to say something that's she's not ready to say. What many people forget about is that love is a very powerful word to use, and that it really shouldn't be thrown around so easily. You should only say it when you truly mean it, not to simply justify a relationship."

A look of shame filled Kai's face as he slowly began to walk away. In the back, still in her seat, Jinora mouthed the words "Thank you."

At that moment Asami slowly entered the room. Korra saw her and instantly lit up. "Hey you're here. Guess who came into town today, we've already started talking to Wu about..."

"I hate him." Asami said under her breath.

"Wait what?"

"I hate him" Asam screamed this time, startling everyone in the kitchen.

"Whoa, what did I do" Wu whined from his seat.

Asami shook her head. "Not you, Raiko." She then turned to Korra. "He came to my work today and began shooting off about you and me planning on running against him."

"How did he find out" Mako asked surprised at this sudden development.

"He said something about him having contacts, but that's not what's got me upset." Asami's fists tightened as she looked down at the floor. "That man stormed into my office, and started making of fun of you Korra. He told me that you don't know how to lead, that you endanger the city, and that he pities anyone who becomes close to you."

"Oh Asami." Korra wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist. "Don't you worry about him. I promise he'll get his."

"I know. I'm gonna make sure of it." Asami's voice was both low and menacing.

Korra removed her hold on Asami, backed away slowly, and looked at her with concern. "What do you mean you're going to make sure of it?"

Asami stepped next to the young prince sitting at the table. "Wu, thank you for making your way all the way down here, but I've decided that I'm going to be the one to run against Raiko."

Everyone's jaw dropped. Korra placed a hand on the back of Asami's shoulder and asked. "But I thought you said you didn't want to do it."

Asami clenched her fist once again and furrowed her brow. "That was before the asshole made it personal."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Within a back room of the Republic City town hall, Asami was reviewing over note cards as her assistant Yori was filling her in on the event she was about to attend. "Remember keep your eyes forward, answer thoughtfully and clearly, and try not to get into your own head. This is only a Q/A to allow the people to learn more about your campaign."

Asami did not look up from her cards, she continued to flip through them as she responded "I understand. Will there be a moderator, or do I have to operate by myself?"

"Come on Asami, you know you're never alone" Korra said as she entered the room from a side door.

Yori noticed the woman, and held a weak hand up to her. "Avatar Korra, we appreciate you coming to show support for your friend, but Miss Sato needs to stay focused."

Finally putting the note cards down, Asami placed a hand on her assistant's shoulder. "It's alright Yori, Korra has some business to discuss with me. Why don't you give us a minute, and then you come back to get me when it's time."

Giving an understanding nod, Yori said "As you wish Miss Sato." Carrying several papers in her arms, Yori made her way to the door before stepping next to Korra and giving a gentle grin. "It really is good to see you again Avatar Korra." With that she stepped out.

Korra smiled as she stared at the back of the now closed door. "You know I really like that assistant of yours. Is she like an intern or..." As Korra turned around she was immediately interrupted with a deep kiss by Asami. As she slowly pulled away Korra turned a soft shade of shade of pink. "...or is she someone you just picked up." Her voice was hushed as though her breathe had been taken away.

Asami moved away and sat down on a couch in one of the corners. "I hired her about two weeks ago. I saw she had decent experience, and I thought I'd give her an opportunity."

Korra followed Asami and took a seat beside her. "She seems very efficient. I bet she really keeps you in line."

"That and then some. I don't know how I was able to get through my days for so long without her" Asami exuberantly exclaimed. "Just the other day she was able to point out six different weak points in one of our new satomobile designs that I completely missed."

This statement threw Korra through a loop, she had never heard Asami talk so appreciatively about someone before, except for her at least. "Sounds like a good partner to have."

Asam, however,i did not pick up on Korra's sarcasm and simply nodded in agreement. "Especially in this campaign. Yori has an extensive knowledge of politics that I think will be really useful."

"Good thing too, who knows what kind of trouble my advice would have brought you" Korra weakly joked, now getting and moving away from the couch.

That's when Asami started to notice her girlfriend's light jealousy. She got up from the couch as well in order to step behind Korra and wrap her arms around her waist. "Oh come on, you know I take your opinion very seriously." Asami then gently kissed the back of Korra's neck, trying to elicit some sort of response.

Luckily it worked, making Korra slightly giggle from Asami's soft lips tickling at her skin. However, that still wasn't going to stop Korra from teasing her. "If that's the case, then how would Yori feel if she heard you were doing things because your girlfriend told you to?"

"I wish we didn't have to pretend that we're just friends." Asami whined as she brushed hair off of one of Korra's ears.

Korra slightly frowned at the mention of their current relationship standing. "Me neither, but even though I hate to admit it. Bringing up your sexual orientation will only bring attention away from the issues. And frankly it may not help your popularity with certain voters." There was a brief pause between them as Korra turned around to face Asami and looked her up and down, admiring the nicely tailored suit she was wearing. "You look cute."

"Cute" Asami responded sounding almost offended

Korra instantly turned red. "Oh ugh, distinguished, knowledgable, powerful" she panickingly said stumbling over her words.

Asami placed a finger to Korra's lips. "Cute is fine. At least as long as my attitude still reflects aggression."

Korra chuckled to herself. "Oh you can be more than aggressive when you want to be." After she said that Korra received a playful punch to the arm.

"You're so sweet." Suddenly Yori stuck her head back into the the room, gestured to Asami, and then went back outside. With a frown Asami gave Korra a peck on the check and said "I have to go now I'll see you later."

"Of course." Korra wrapped her arms around Asami's neck in a parting hug. "I'll have dinner ready tonight."

Taken aback Asami's jaw dropped. "Dinner? You're making dinner? I didn't know you could cook anything that was outside of a campfire."

"Haha very funny. You'll be there right" Korra asked once again.

Asami gave a sly wink and said "You bet."

As Asami began to walk away Korra called out to her "Ugh Asami, isn't there something you want to say to me?"

The woman thought to herself for a moment, smiled, and turned around. "Oh yea, I love you."

A small shutter showed on Korra's face, but her gentle grin returned just as quickly as it left. "Love you too. Sorry for taking you away so long. Go get em."

The two parted with a final wave goodbye, Asami exited the room to find Yori waiting for her right outside the door. "I'm ready." Yori nodded and they both made their way down a long hallway.

The further they walked the louder a small murmur of voices became. They finally came to a pair of double doors. Yori turned to Asami and said "There's a podium set up for you. You'll give your opening speech, and then open up for questions. Also like I said before keep your answers thorough, town hall only gave us fifth-teen minutes to hold this event. You don't have to hold back on explaining yourself, but try to make the people understand what your telling them. Are you good?"

"Definitely." Asami thrusted the doors open, and confidently strutted to the podium in front of her. There was a small gathering of people, all eager to hear what she was going to say. "Good afternoon everyone. As you all most likely know, I've recently announced my intentions on running for President of the United Republic. Of course I will be releasing a full report on my desired policies in a more public press release. But for now I'm here to answer any questions you may have on my campaign, and listen to any concerns you may want me to focus on. So without any further ado, who would like to go first."

A man in the front row immediately raised his hand, and Asami acknowledged him. "Yes hello, my name is Roshu Pi, I was just curious on what made you want to run?"

"That's an excellent question to get started on. You see what inspired me to take this initiative was when I first heard about the recent construction plans near the newly formed Spirit Portal, sanctioned by President Raiko. At first glance it may seem like it's a positive thing for Republic City, especially after the recent invasion by the Earth Empire. However, what many of you may not know is that after the rebuilding finishes, a screening process will be enforced regulating who can enter the spirit world. This is a direct violation of the citizens rights, not to mention a decision that was intentionally made without the consultation of the Avatar or the approval of the people. We cannot let a man like President Raiko approve actions like this without running it by the people first. I feel like I could do a better job of keeping the citizens informed, while also allowing any major decisions that affected the city to be put up for vote." Once she finished Asami found she was out of breathe. She thought to herself in awe of how passionately she spoke. Asami took in a deep breathe and asked "Next question?"

This time it was a woman who was standing in the middle of the crowd who raised her hand, but instead of waiting on being called she simply spoke up. "Yea, it's pretty public knowledge you work closely with the Avatar. Is she also involved with your campaign, and if so how much influence does she have in structuring your policies?"

Asami hesitated for a moment. It was only the second question, and they were already talking about her relationship with Korra. She knew she had to remain cool and not give anything away, but that didn't mean it was going to be easy. The one thing that crossed her mind is that she shouldn't lie to them. "I will be honest with all of you, Avatar Korra is a major partner of mine in this campaign." A small murmur erupted from the crowd, however, Asami continued. "Originally she was supposed to be running instead of me, but her role as the bridge between worlds prevents her from doing so. The extent of her involvement will be mostly advising me on some of my plans, however she doesn't get final say in any of it. Although she shares the same emotional outrage towards the treatment of the people of Republic City, she expressly wishes for this too be a fair race between Raiko and myself. Now if the next person will speak up." Suddenly a young blonde-headed girl was shoved out of the crowd, and fell down to the floor in front of Asami. She was followed closely behind by an angry looking burly man who walked towards her. This altercation immediately caught Asami's attention "Excuse me is there a problem?"

The burly man grabbed a fist full of the young girl's shoulder length hair and yanked her to her feet. "Sorry mam, I just caught this punk making a pass at my girlfriend."

The girl squirmed violently trying to get free. "I did not. I was just walking by and I accidently bumped into her."

The man tugged hard on the hair once again threatening to lift the girl off the ground. "Yea right, I saw your sneaky hands all over her."

Asami was getting tired of seeing this girl go through so much abuse. "Sir, do you have a question for me? If not I'm going to need you to let go of the young girl and step back to where you were."

Slightly offended that he was being talked down to in such a manner, the man shot back at Asami in a sarcastic tone. "Yea I do have a question." He then looked down at the girl that he had yet to release and smiled. "What do you plan to do about the issue with queers in Republic City, I understand that we currently have a jarring overpopulation of them." The man said each word in such a nasty way that it seemed he intended to both offend the young blond girl and make a mockery of Asami's public Q/A.

What the man did not know was that his statement was also a personal shot at Asami herself. The inside of her face began to burn hot with rage, but she still had to take care of the situation calmly. "Sir, either you let go of that girl, or I'm going to have call for security to escort you out of the building. Regardless of personal opinion or thought, we cannot allow hateful speech to take over this event."

Finally the man threw the girl aside, where she landed a few feet away and then scurried back through the crowd. He pointed his finger up at Asami and yelled "It isn't hateful speech it's the truth. Everyday I see or hear something about gays, and all the things they think they deserve. I'm sick of all it. So if you want my vote, you have to tell me what you plan on doing about them."

Although no one in the crowd could see it, Asami was gripping tightly onto the sides of the podium to prevent her from jumping down and knocking some sense into the man in front of her. She, however, continued to hold her calm demeanor and responded "I'm not going to do anything. As I have previously pointed out, I do not wish to impede on the rights of anyone, regardless of their orientation or beliefs."

"What about marriage" The man quickly questioned back.

"Excuse me?" Asami was unsure of what he meant by that.

A devious smirk grew on the man's face. "Marriage. Since you like to use sophisticated words, I'll say it in a way you'll understand. As you probably are already aware of, it is not legal for two same sex individuals to be wed in Republic City. So to restate my inquiry. Do you plan on getting rid of that rule or are you going to do the right thing and keep it the way it is?"

So badly did Asami want to simply deck this man, but she needed to save face and make sure she remained someone that the citizens would vote for. The only problem was she didn't know what would be the more popular response. "Sadly that is a question I cannot answer at this time without further research and counsel. The one thing I am sure of is that you need to leave now. If you want I can call the security I mentioned earlier." With an unsatisfied grimace on his face the heckler willingly left. Out of the corner of her eye Asami saw Yori signaling for time. "I'm being informed that we are out of time. I apologize for the short length of this conference, but if you have any further questions I have set up a special phone line at Sato Industries that can easily settle your concerns. Thank you for your time." Asami modestly paced back in the way she came, and when she reached the elongated hallway she leaned against one of the walls, slid down to the floor, and took a hard breathe.

Yori soon followed behind with a cup of water. "Things were at least going soothly in the beginning."

Asami chucked to herself. "Yori if you're around me long enough you'll realize hardly anything goes completely smooth. You should have been there the time we were trying to keep Korra away from the Red Lotus."

The young woman smiled at her boss, handed the cup to her, and then slid down the wall next to her. "Well if it's any consolation I thought you reacted perfectly to that incident at the end."

"I did?" Asami chuckled again, this time in disbelief.

"Of course you did, same sex marriage is a very tricky subject. Whichever side you take you'll make someone mad at you. It's not a sound political strategy to take a side. The best thing to do is remain ambiguous on the subject."

Asami didn't feel too comfortable about taking this method, but as long as she didn't hurt feelings on either side she believed it would be ok. Suddenly she remembered something, and Asami slapped her forehead. "Oh but what about that girl. I meant to go talk to her afterwards. I wonder if she's still here."

Yori waved it off. "Ms. Sato there's no use fretting now, she is probably already gone. Besides what could you have said to her. I'm sorry that bigoted jerks exist. Trust me she'll be fine."

Asami looked down at her hands noticing how red they were from gripping the podium so tightly out of rage. "I just don't know."

Seeing she wasn't getting through to her, Yori leaned in and talked a little more plainly. "Asami listen, you can't get torn up over one little spat. That is what political races are made of. Take the advantage that there were no reporters here, move on, and get ready for the next one."

Asami perked up a little bit, with a small smile forming on her face. "If you say so."

With a gentle grin herself, Yori placed an arm around Asami's shoulder and said "Come on why don't we get you something to eat. You must be famished."

"Alright." The two women got back to their feet, and casually made their way out of the Republic City Capital Building.

Several hours later Asami came back to the Sato Estate. As she entered the mansion she called out loudly. "Korra, I'm home." However, there was no response, which puzzled Asami. Usually Korra would come careening towards her as soon as she walked in the door; regardless of where she was in the house. Asami slowly strolled around the house looking for her girlfriend, but she couldn't find her. Soon she came upon the dining room, and what she saw stunned her. The kitchen table held a brightly lit candle opera in the center, there were two plates of what appeared to be noodles and some sort of beef on either side of the table, and next to one of the plates there was a note that read.

Happy one month sweetheart,

Love Korra.

Asami looked up from the paper, and the realization hit her. "Ah shit." She quickly ran upstairs to her and Korra's shared bedroom, and found her lying in bed with the lights off. "Korra are you awake." There was a soft murmur of sobbing, which tore at Asami's heart. "I'm so sorry. I had been so busy I forget it was our anniversary."

"It's whatever, I don't care." Korra's voice was choked, and obviously full of tears that she was trying to hold back.

"Korra you do care otherwise you wouldn't have gone to the effort of making such a lovely meal."

"Do you think she's pretty" Korra blurted out.

"What?"

"Your assistant Yori, do you think she's pretty?" Korra was even louder this time. There was an obvious twinge of pain whenever she asked the question.

Asami wasn't sure how to respond. "I guess she kind of is."

There was a brief pause before Korra spoke again. "Do you think she's prettier than me?"

Surprised at the insinuation Asami immediately answered back with assurance in her voice. "Of course not. She may be cute, but your beautiful. I can't believe you'd assume I'd think otherwise. Where is this all coming from?"

Korra still did not turn over to look at Asami. She continued to lay on her side and face the wall. "You've been spending a lot of time with her lately. Time you used to spend with me."

"I'm sorry, I guess there's a lot more to political campaigns than we originally thought. There is so many things that I need to do, and as I told you before she makes sure I stay on task."

Korra was silent for a moment. Before she asked her final question. "Where did you go after your Q/A?"

Suddenly Asami felt ashamed, because she realized what she had done. "Yori and I went to Kwong's Cuisine for dinner."

Korra's body curled inward and a faint sob was heard. Asami immediately jumped onto the bed, and wrapped her arms around Korra as tight as she could. "Shh, Korra listen to me. I love you, and only you. There is no other woman or man, that can ever measure up to the feelings I have for you." This only made Korra cry even harder, she kept trying to wiggle her way out of Asami's hold, but her grasp was just too tight. Asami was not going to let her go without making this right. "Korra I'm going to make you a promise right here and now." Asam grabbed ahold of the bellowing girls hand and pulled it up to the left side of her chest. "Do you feel that, it's my heart beating. Every single thump, every single pulse, every single skip is for you. The entirety of my soul and all of my being will always belong to you. Where you go, I go." Slowly Korra was beginning to calm down, but the emotions inside Asami were only now getting fired. With her opposite hand Asami gripped onto Korra's shirt out of frustration. "I cannot tell you how much I ache right now from the thought that I might have hurt you. I would never in a million years intentionally bring harm to you." Tears were slowly crawling down Asami's face. "I love you and I'll never stop loving you, just please say you'll forgive me."

Finally Korra turned onto her back with her hand still on Asami's chest and stared up into her eyes. "I was never mad at you. I'm just disappointed that you didn't remember our anniversary. I know it's just one stupid month, but the thing is I was so proud that a girl like you would want to be with me for so long."

Korra began to sit up straight, while Asami looked down and noticed there were a few burn marks on Korra's free hand. She let go of the other one being held to her chest, and noticed it was also similarly scorched. This ripped into Asami even more as she gently picked the hands up and worriedly asked "Korra what happened?

"I figured you deserved a good home made meal for once." A pained grin then formed across Korra's lips. "You were right from earlier, I wasn't very good at it. I just wanted to show my appreciation for all the love you give me, but sadly you didn't get a chance to see any of it."

At that moment Asami let go of Korra's and then grabbed both sides of her girlfriend's cheeks. "Yes I did. I witness when I see you lying next to me ready to greet me in the morning. I feel it when you kiss my cheek and wish me luck in my day." For a split second Asami glanced over Korra's shoulder and noticed something that made her gleam with joy. "I know it when you go through all the trouble of preparing a great anniversary dinner a day early."

Korra's face then unexpectedly contorted. "What?"

Asami raised up her hand and pointed at a calendar hanging on the wall behind them. "It's the 20th our one month is on the 21st. Meaning it's been our anniversary for..." Asami then turned her head to look at the clock sitting on the night stand beside their bed which read 12:04. "...approximately four minutes now."

Without hesitation Korra grabbed ahold of Asami's face and leaned in for a deep kiss. For this particular one, Korra wanted it to mean something. When she finally broke away, Asami for a second had to catch her breath. "I'm so stupid." Korra said as she placed her forehead against Asami's laughing to herself.

With a small reach of her lips Asami pecked the tip of Korra's nose. "Close. You're only in love with me."

"I am." Korra placed another kiss on Asami's lips."I am so in love with you." She followed up with yet another kiss. "You are what gives me happiness and joy, I never want to let you go." She planted one last kiss before she jumped off the bed. Korra ran a hand through her messy hair, and smiled. "Listen, besides the dinner I did have one other surprise planned for you."

A bright grin grew on Asami's face to see Korra back to normal. "Oh really what is it?"

"Come with me." Korra grabbed ahold of Asami's arm and tugged her right off the bed. She eventually lead her down to the pool. "Alright one sec." Letting go of Asami's arm Korra walked over to the edge of the pool, placed a hand into the water, and soon she made the entirety of it begin to bubble up and boil. With a mischievous grin Korra asked "Remind you of anything?"

Asami was awestruck, she couldn't believe they didn't think of it before. "Korra that's great, but shouldn't we have changed into our swimsuits before coming down here."

"Who said we're going to wear swimsuits" Korra said as she removed her shirt and began to unbutton her pants.

Now understanding what her girlfriend was suggesting Asami turned bright red. "Oh this really is going to be like that hot spring."

Author's Notes: Wow guys 10 chapters. That's kind of a milestone sort of. I have to say it's been a pleasure writing this story so far. I have so much more in store for you. As always you can comment, critique, or leave a review if you so choose, just as long as it's relevant to the story. If you have any question feel free to PM me. See you in the next chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

The moon was bright on this night. It shined brilliantly through the open curtained window, illuminating both Korra and Asami as they laid peacefully in bed together. Asami was awake, but only barely. Although they settled their misunderstanding about the date of their anniversary, Asami still felt bad for putting Korra in that position. She didn't mean to be spending so much time away from her, and Asami was also kicking herself for not realizing how Yori's presence might make Korra feel. In the morning Asami knew she was going to have to make some changes in her agenda, otherwise she would be running the risk of hurting Korra again; something she wanted to avoid at all cost.

Suddenly a loud crash was heard within the mansion and Korra immediately was woken up. "What was that?"

Asami also swiftly sat upright concerned. "I don't know, but we're about to find out." Both women jumped out of their bed ready and alert. Korra lead ahead opening the bedroom door and peeking her head out into the hallway. She could not make anything out due to how dark it was in the mansion, so she turned back to Asami and said "I don't see anything out there, but we should probably still look around before going back to sleep." With a subtle nod from Asami, they slowly exited the room to go investigate the strange noise.

As the two woman traversed further through their shared home, Asami noticed how Korra was intentionally walking in front of her and looking frequently left and right. This garnered a slight chuckle from the woman as she lightly whispered "I find it so cute that you feel you need to protect me."

This made Korra stop dead in her tracks, She remained facing forward, so Asami wouldn't see her furious blush. "I just feel like if someone is going to get hurt it might as well be me over you."

"Oh Korra." Asami gently stepped up right behind her girlfriend, and wrapped her arms around Korra's waist. "After that incident we had a couple hours ago, I don't want to even think about you getting hurt for a long while."

"Hey, I thought we already talked about this. Everything's been settled."

"Not to me it hasn't. The mix up of dates may have been forgiven, but you had every right to be upset with me about Yori. I didn't consider your feelings when I talked so openly and positively about her."

Korra turned around to face Asami. "Asami please don't do that to yourself. I don't want you to feel ashamed for talking with and or about other women. As I said when we moved in together, we need to be allowed to have lives outside of each other."

"But that doesn't mean I should alienate our own life together" Asami attempted to argue back.

"You're not alienating anything. Things have just been crazy lately. You know we should probably..." As Korra was trying to explain her thoughts, Asami saw a faint outline of a shadowy figure behind her, and it was moving quickly towards them.

Asami grabbed ahold of her girlfriend's shoulders and pushed down on them. "Korra duck." Just as the young woman hit the ground, the menacing figure jumped forward and kicked Asami square in the chest knocking her several feet back. The assailant was dressed in what appeared to be all black stealth gear, and was brandishing a metal baton. Although staggered, Asami was ready and willing to fight this home invader. However, the intruder paid no attention to her as he turned about face and came down upon Korra with the baton. The attack was immediately stopped with Korra raising her hands up forcing the metal pipe to instantly bend backwards and half wrap around the attacker's wrist, which then flung downwards and embedded itself in the floor in front of her. This entrapment however did not last long as the assailant within a fluid motion flipped their body forward and kicked Korra directly in the head, thus breaking her bending concentration and releasing the hold on the attacker to the floor. One the assailant got back to their feet they wasted no time by sprinting down an adjoins hallway away from the two women. With adrenaline still in her veins Asami chased after them, as Korra slowly get back to her feet. Soon Asami and her invader came upon the giant staircase that lead down to the front door. Not willing to let them get away Asami leapt forward tackling the assailant from behind and wrestling with them as they violently toppled down the stairs. Once the two reached the bottom, the assailant had managed to perch themselves on top of Asami and was attempting to punch her. However, she had a good grip on his arm, while her other hand was fidgeting with the face mask the assailant was wearing. "Who the hell are you?" She just managed to get her fingers into the cresses of the mask, and with a sharp tug it was off. Behind the shroud was an older man in his mid thirties, and there was a look in his eyes due to being revealed. He quickly jumped off of her and made a B line for the door. Asami got back to her feet as well and continued the pursuit.

The man made it outside, and held a pretty good distance ahead of Asami. He was just about to make a turn towards one of the giant hedges and secure his escape, but only a few short yards away from the front door he was pounced upon from above and pinned to the ground by Korra.

Asami finally caught up to them, and wore a surprised look on her face. "Did you just jump off the roof?"

Korra looked over her shoulder at her girlfriend in confusion. "What? No. That would be ridiculous. I jumped out the window." She then turned back to the home invader and rubbed his face into the dirt. "Now I need you to be honest with me. Is there a reason why you decided to wake me up in the middle of the night?"

The man did not speak, he only grunted as Korra pushed harder on his head. Suddenly some papers that laid on the ground close by to the man caught Asami's eye. She picked them up and was surprised at what she found "Korra, I don't think this is a regular home invasion."

Not taking her eyes off the captive, Korra called back "What makes you say that?"

"He was trying to steal these documents." Asami then held the papers up for her to see. "He tried to snag family birth records, bank statements, and papers that deal with my father's involvement with the Equalists." At that moment the invader tried to reach forward and grab a stone that was about a foot in front of him, however Asami noticed his desperate escape attempt and stepped forward to stomp on his hand. "Why were you trying to steal these papers? Who sent you?"

In a gruff growl, the man finally spoke. "I'm not telling you anything."

Due to this exclamation, Korra pulled the man by his hair and smashed his face right back into the ground. "I don't know about you but it's past midnight, I'm really tired, and frankly I'm not the nicest person when my sleep is interrupted. So considering you forced me to hop out of bed, I would really consider rephrasing that response again."

This only made the man painfully cackle. "You two think you're so smug. You have no idea what's coming your way."

"Oh really? How about you enlighten us." Asami then twisted her foot on top of the man's hand.

"Don't make us ask you again" Korra said still with handful of the man's short hair. He however, remained silent gritting his teeth. Now truly overtaken with her exhaustion, Korra got right down to the man's ear, squeezed his hair tight, and yelled "Who sent you asshole?"

Suddenly a small metallic orb landed right beside the two women, and it soon spewed a thick smoke in between them. Korra felt a sharp jab to the face knocking her off the assailant, while Asami received a blow to the back of the knees sending her careening to the ground. When the smoke finally cleared, the man had vanished leaving the both women dumbfounded.

"Well that was unfortunate" Korra said as she slowly got back to her feet. She looked down and saw that Asami still had ahold of the personal documents. "At least he didn't get what he came for. I would say we need to talk about what just happened, but right now I'm just too tired to care.

As Asami stood up herself she noticed something concerning "Oh no, Korra you're bleeding." Asami was pointing at an open gash on Korra's knee that was slightly bleeding through her night pants.

Korra looked down and grimaced "Dang it, I must of hit it when I fell on our friend."

Asami grabbed her by the the waisted and started to pull her back to the houses "Come on, let's go inside and get you cleaned up."

A few minutes later Korra was sitting on top of the bathroom counter wincing in pain as Asami dabs a medicinal alcohol soaked rag onto her leg. "Ow" she squealed.

Asami simply shook her head. "That's what you get for showing off."

"You know I could just as easily heal myself with waterbending" Korra whined.

However, Asami was not going to listen to any of it. "That may be true, but I'm trying to prevent this from turning into a scar. That means I have to disinfect and bandage you up the old fashioned way."

"You just want me to suffer." Korra teased with a small tear in her eye and a smile on her face.

"Now you know that's not true. What did I tell you earlier?" Asami lightly blew on Korra's wound in order to cool it's persistent sting, and then she stared at it for a moment. "Seeing you in even just a little pain like this tears me up inside. I wish I could protect you better, but I can only reach so far."

"You reach far enough." Korra lightly placed a hand on Asamj's cheek. "I'm sorry for getting so upset earlier, it's just sometimes I question why you ever wanted to be with me. I mean a woman as successful as you, you could have had your pick of whoever you wanted."

"But Korra that's the thing. I wanted you." Asami grasped onto the hand that was warmly resting on her face, and wrapped fingers tightly through it. "Despite popular belief I didn't have many friends growing up. Sure there was always plenty of other kids around me, but they didn't care about me. They only cared that they were hanging around with the daughter of a very rich man. Even after that whole fiasco with my father and the Equalists, you, Bolin, and Mako still stuck by me. You guys showed me what it felt like to have someone other than family care about you." At that point Asami lightly grinned, and stared gently into Korra's eyes. "It was only during our collective fight against the Red Lotus that I realized you were the one that meant the most to me."

Without another word said, Korra closed the gap between them by locking her lips with Asami's. The warmth of her lips made any discomfort or pain melt away. As they parted Korra was grinning from ear to ear. "Happy actual Anniversary Asami."

Asami returned the smile and pecked Korra's cheek. "Happy actual Anniversary Korra. Now come on let's go back to bed." The two women turned the lights out in the kitchen, and began their sore trek back to their shared bedroom.

On the the other end of town in the dirty back alleys of Republic City a young blonde girl was paying the price for an ignorant burly man's prejudice. With a loud thud she was thrown hard against the concrete wall of an opposing building. "This'll teach you to keep your groping hands to yourself."

"I didn't touch your girlfriend" she spat back at him.

"Liar." The man swung his fist making direct contact with the girl's face and knocking her straight to the ground. "I saw you with my own eyes, you were reaching around her waist trying to grab at her."

"Sir step away from the woman right now" A voice called from across the alley.

The man turned around to see who was interrupting his personal retribution. Standing a short distance away was a serous looking Mako who appeared to be scowling down at the situation. However, the burly man paid no mind to him as he answered back "Sorry, but I can't do that. You see she needs to learn a lesson in keeping her hands to herself."

Mako was still not amused. He reached his hand, and a small flame exhumed from the center of his palm. "Either you let her go, or neither one of us is walking away unscarred."

This seemed to have gotten to the man as he looked back scornfully at the young blond girl. "I guess you truly are lucky blondie, but be warned. Next time there won't be anyone else to save you." With that he stormed down the opposite end of the alley

Mako slowly approached the young blonde still sprawled on the ground while holding a hand out to her "Are you alright miss?"

"Don't call me miss." The woman slapped Mako's hand away, and shay got back to her feet. "I don't need your patronage, and I defiantly didn't need your help."

Surprised at the response he reviewed Mako dropped back a step or two. However, he was still able to maintain his calm demeanor. "Well as an officer of the law I'm obliged to help any citizen in need. Especially those who are getting pummeled in the street." The latter statement Mako couldn't help but add a little sarcastic to it.

"You're a cop?" She called back shocked. "Great just what I needed."

"Technically I'm a detective, but same difference right?" Mako hoped that if he lightened the mood of the situation, he would also lighten the young woman's mood.

However, the woman remained uninterested. "Yea sure" she said mockingly and began to hobble away.

Mako noticed the shutter in her step, and he tried to call her back. "You really shouldn't be walking on that leg. I think it would be a good idea if we got you some medical attention."

"I'm fine" she heatedly snapped back. "I just need to get out of here."

Despite the young blonde's fixed opinion on her health, Mako did not give up on his own thoughts and continued to persist. "Well your not going to get very far with that limp. Why don't you tell me where you live and I'll take you there in my car."

The young woman sighed and begrudgingly looked over her shoulder. "If I say yes, will you leave me alone?"

A smile then appeared on Mako's face, because he knew he had won. "I'll do my best."

They both slowly made their way to the end of the alley, where a slick black Satomobile sat parked on the edge of the street. Trying to be as helpful as he could, Mako opened the passenger door for the young woman. She showed no sign of appreciation, and simply plopped into the seat. Once Mako got into the car himself, they took off. There were few words said between the pair throughout the ride, other than the occasional directions given by the blonde. At last they finally came to a run down neighborhood with several beaten up houses. Mako was then instructed to stop in front of one the tiny homes that had all of it's lights out. "Alright this is it."

The young blonde started to exit the car, but Mako grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. He then pointed at the home and asked "You live there?"

The woman pulled her arm away from his grasp and glared at him. "Yea, you got a problem with where I live."

"Only when you don't live there. That home belongs to Meo Kaph, she trains at the same gym as me." At that point the Blonde was speechless. She had been caught in a lie and she knew it. Unlike before, Mako's attitude was now much more serious. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I need you to be completely honest with me. Otherwise this is going to be a long for the both of us." Mako's facial expression was stern, because he was all to familiar with the situation he suspected this girl to be involved in. "First question, do you live on the streets?" The blonde shamefully nodded. "Are you apart of any gangs, such as the Triple Triads?" The young woman shook her head. "Do you have any family?"

This questioned seemed to make the woman shutter. "I had a brother."

Mako noticed her uneasiness and he tried to be mindful of how he proceeded. "What happened to him?"

"You know what I really don't feel like playing twenty questions on the side of the road" she whined once again showing her cold attitude.

However, Mako knew how to be just as smug as her, and he was also getting tired of the back and forth between them. "You're right. We'll go play it back at the station."

"Wait, what" the woman shouted in response. "I didn't do anything,"

"Doesn't matter" Mako argued back. "I can't let you stay out here on the streets, especially since it's going to get close to freezing temperatures tonight. Besides we might want to take a look at that bum leg of yours."

The blonde wanted to raise more of a fuss, but she couldn't deny how chilled she felt from the outside air and the blowing wind. So she simply leaned back into her seat, as Mako pulled off once again. Like before there were no words said throughout the drive, and when they arrived at the station. The young woman immediately opened her door and made her way inside; not taking a second to wait on Mako.

Alas she didn't get too far, due to the officer at the front desk holding her up as she came in. Mako waved at the man as he also approached the front desk. "She's with me, I'm taking here to the back." The man at the front desk briefly glanced over at the woman and nodded. Before leaving Mako wrote something down on a piece of paper that was sitting on the desk and handed over to the man. "If you don't mind can you do this for me." The man looked at the paper and then once again nodded. Mako then led young woman to the the main office in the back where the desks of all the lower divisional cops were. He sat her down into one of the waiting chairs that lined the walls and asked "Are you comfortable."

The woman scowled up at him, and said in her signature sarcastic tone "I'm sitting in the middle of a police station at three o'clock in the morning, couldn't be more serene."

"Who's blondie?" Both Mako and the young woman turned to see Captain Lin Beifong leaning against one of the desks a short distance away.

Mako walked towards and explained "She's a girl I had to rescue from some thugs that were trying to rough her up."

The woman however, did not like his summation. "Oh please don't spare any exciting details of your bravery my daring hero."

Lin chuckled. "She certainly has a mouth on her."

At that point Mako leaned in and whispered so only Lin could hear. "She lives on the street."

Lin's expression quickly became serious again. She whispered back to Mako "Did she commit a crime?"

"No" he answered dryly.

Lin's voice then suddenly became frustrated and annoyed. "Than why did you unlawfully bring her here when we have nothing to detain her for?"

"Because it's warm here." Mako then peered up into Lin's eyes in order to help convey his reason.

The captain simply smiled and slapped him on the back. "That's why you're my favorite Mako" she said aloud as she stroud back to her office.

"Is that your name, Mako?" The woman called out from her seat. Her voice was no longer harsh, but more inquisitive.

Mako turned around surprised to hear not so much venom being spat at him. He smiled and responded "Yea, which reminds me I don't believe I caught yours."

However, the young woman realized how she was sounding, and just as soon it came the young woman's sweet tone turned once again into a bitter salt. "That's because I didn't give it. So are you going to keep pestering me, or can I finally get some peace and quite tonight."

Mako signed. He almost had a break through with her, but it seemed she did not have any desire to have her walks down for too long. "Listen I know you feel you have to act tough."

"Oh trust me this is no act. if that guy hadn't jumped me from behind, I would have knocked him on his ass."

"No you wouldn't have" Mako replied with as little energy he had left to argue.

"What did you say?" The woman stood straight up from the chair, her fists clenched tight. "Are you telling me that I'm a bad fighter?"

"No, I'm saying you're not a fighter at all." Mako pointed down at her hands. "If you were as frequent a fighter as you said you'd have bruises on your knuckles." The young woman then looked down at her fists, and aside from dirt and grime they were completely unmarked. Mako continued "If I had to hazard to guess, you are most likely a pacifist. You try and talk a big game, but when it actually comes to conflict you'd rather take the beating than raise a fist to anyone. Am I close?"

Visibly grinding her teeth, the woman turned away from him. "What do you know anyway?"

"I know a lot more than what you give me credit for. I understand what it's like to not have a home." Mako slowly walked towards her being careful not to approach too quickly. "My brother and I lived on the streets ourselves for most of our lives. I remember nights when we had to wait for dive joints to throw away their garbage in order for us to eat."

"So you were a street rat like me? What do you want, an honorary club membership pin?" The young blonde tried to still sound tough, but her persona was gradually slipping away.

By this point Mako was about an arm's reach from her. "No I just want you to realize something."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"That your not a street rat." With that silence filled the entire room, and the blonde could feel chill crawl across her spine. Finally Mako placed a hand on the back of her shoulder and said "It's not where you come from that defines your character, it's who you strive to be."

The silence continued between them until the young woman finally whispered "Reran."

"What did you say" Mako asked while leaning into to listen closer.

With one last deep breathe, the blonde replied "My name...my name is Reran."

A deep smile grew on Mako's face, as he felt the satisfaction of making progress. "It's nice to meet you Reran."

She turned around to face him, and to Mako's surprise there was gentle upward arch on Reran's lips. It wasn't quite a grin, but she no longer held her constant frown. "Do you have any bed cots around this place" she asked. "I'm exhausted."

Mako knew it was time for his confession, so with a light shrugging of his shoulders he explained "If this was the jailhouse we would, but sadly this is only the police station. Besides technically your not supposed to stay over here, unless you've been arrested."

A look of shock took over Reran's face. "So wait, you dragged me over here for nothing?"

However, Mako shook his head maintaining a guilty smile. "No I simply needed you to stick around long enough for the front desk to call a friend of mine."

Reran was not mad, but she appeared to be more confused. "And who is this friend of yours Mako?"

Right as she asked that question the double doors that led into the room swung open and an irritated Asami came marching in. "Mako, I swear this better be important. I had just fallen back asleep when you called."

"Asami Sato" Reran called out in awe.

Asami looked over at the woman calling her name, and her face lit up. "Hey, I know you. You're that girl who was at my Q/A."

Mako looked back and forth between the two women curiously. "It seems you two have already been acquainted. That's good, it'll make what I'm about to ask much easier. Asami this woman needs a place to stay for the night, would you mind letting her crash at yours."

Asami peered over at Mako with concern. "Oh, well I'd love to, but Mako don't you remember I already have a guest staying over." Her eyes went wide when show said guest in order to emphasize who she was talking about.

"Yes but I also remember that you have multiple bedrooms." Mako then gave a quick wink followed by a sly smirk. "It'll only be for the night,"

Asami knew she couldn't decline the request, due to fear of giving her secret away. So she dryly smiled back at Mako and responded. "I suppose. Asami then turned to the young woman now standing beside her. "I guess the two of us should probably get going umm...I'm sorry what's your name?"

"Her name is Reran" Mako quipped

"I can speak for myself thank you." The young blond shot back at him

Mako then chuckled lightly. "And let her go through the same ring-around that you put me through. I don't think so."

Although she tried to hide it, Reran could no longer conceal her natural grin towards Mako's nonsense. "Whatever" she lazily responded as both she and began to walk to the exit door.

"Wait there's one more thing" Mako called out. He reached inside his jacket pocket, pulled out a card, and handed it to Reran. "This has both my work phone and private home line on it. If you need anything call either of these numbers."

She looked at it carefully, making sure understood what she was looking at. "Alright, but what if your not at home or work."

"That actually won't be a problem" Mako explained. "You see Ms. Sato built a machine for my home phone that allows anybody to leave a voice message if it is not eventually answered."

Reran briefly glanced over at Asami "You think of everything don't you."

Asami unabashedly shrugged with a smile. "The woes of being an innovator." She then placed a hand on Reran's shoulder and ushered her further to the door. "Come on let's get you to a warm bed, like it or not I still have work tomorrow."

Author's Post Notes: It looks like this crazy story has picked up yet another passenger. Who is this Reran character, why does she live on the streets, and how is her presence going to affect the remainder of Korra and Asami's actual anniversary? Also who was this home invader dressed all in black, and why was he wanting personal information on Asami? All will be answered in Ch. 12


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

The early glow of a sun not risen leaked into Asami's office within the headquarters of Sato Industries. Although exhausted from the previous evening Asami tried her best to stay awake. With a casual sip of the warm tea sitting atop her desk, she read through as attentively as possible the morning newspaper. Yori stood in the corner of the room looking slightly concerned at her boss "Ms. Sato are you alright?"

Asami didn't peer up from her paperwork, she simply muttered back at her assistant in almost a groggy tone. "Yes, I'm fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night."

Yori nodded and moved a few steps toward her. "That's understandable. Campaigning can put a great deal of stress on someone, but I promise it's nothing to lose rest over."

Still not tearing her eyes away from her Asami responded "That's true, but I'm sad to say it wasn't all this political nonsense that kept me up."

"Well what was it than?" Yori stepped even closer to The desk.

Asam gave a subtle sigh. "Some personal issues."

"Well I'm more than happy to listen to it." Yori at this point was right at the foot of the desk, and she began to lean over it getting nearly face to fave with her boss. "You know you can tell me anything, right Asami?"

At last Asami jolted her head up and gave Yori a very serious look. She had an inkling of what Yori was trying to do, it's a little more obvious now that she was paying attention. And although very flattered, Asami knew she should probably shut down these flirtatious attempts before they become something else entirely."Yori, I appreciate the sentiment, but this is not the time or place to be talking about such things. We're at work right now, and in this environment I am your boss and you are my assistant. I understand you are simply trying to be caring, and I am grateful for that. However, you need to also realize that we need to separate our personal lives with our professional ones."

Not expecting such a response, Yori faltered back a step or two and tried to recollect herself. "You're right, I apologize. Maybe later after work we can get something to eat and we can talk then."

"Yori I would, but I already have plans for tonight." Asami wasn't lying when she said this. She already fully intended on spending the evening with Korra in order to make up for the anniversary confusion the night before.

However, Yori was not aware of the Anniversary mishap or even that Asami and Korra were together. Because of this Yori, appeared to not know how to respond. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the office, unaware of what to say, especially after putting herself out like that. She finally was able to mutter a few words, most likely in order to save face. "Oh I see. Well maybe some other time." With that the young assistant slowly made her to exit the room.

Right as she reached the door Asami remembered something and called out to her. "Oh Yori before you go, how is that little project I gave you awhile ago coming along? Have you found all the pieces?"

Yori paused to think back on the task she received weeks prior. "I acquired most of it. But I've been really busy with the campaign and redoing my concept design." Suddenly a thought struck Yori, and small glimmer of hope radiated within her. She turned back around to Asami and said. "That reminds me. I was wondering if you'd mind reviewing over what I have so far."

Asami recalled the design Yori presented to her. It still required fine tuning, but definitely had promise. She was about to agree to look at them, but then Asami caught a glance of the remaining paperwork on her desk. "Yori sadly I can't, I'm really swamped right now. Maybe later on I can reexamine it."

Yori's kind demeanor vanished with this last refusal by Asami. With no regard for her tone, Yori snapped back at her boss. "Of course, I wouldn't want to steal a few seconds away from your oh so time crunching work."

Surprised at her assistant's harsh rebuttal, Asami responded in kind. "Hey, don't get upset with me. You see how tall these paper stacks are."

Yori, however, did not back down. She seemed to only get more upset, as her fists clenched and her eyebrows deeply furrowed. "How could I forget? I'm the one who lugs them in here everyday. I've been working endlessly for the last few weeks just to make your life easier. I know I'm just an assistant, but that doesn't mean you have to give me so much disrespect."

The furious young woman then attempted to storm out of the room, but Asami called out to her. "Yori stop." Yori almost completely ignored her boss, but something made her body halt as her hand wrapped tightly around the door handle. With a small degree of reluctance, she looked back over her shoulder. Asami then gestured to a chair that was placed directly in front of her desk. "Come sit down, I need to tell you something." Yori complied, alowly moving back over, and falling roughly into her seat. With a deep sigh Asami pinched the bridge of her nose and began to speak. "The reason I'm trying to put a distance between us is because recently I've felt like our relationship has begun to grow beyond friendship." The expression of frustration and anger within Yori visually started to fade as she listened more intently. "You're a very kind and attractive woman, but I can't have that kind of relationship develop between us."

"I thought you might have felt those sparks too." A gentle grin appeared on Yori's face. "Asami it's alright that you feel at odds with your emotions, it shows that your aware that they exist. But I promise that no matter what society says, there's nothing wrong with what you feel inside." Asami was completely speechless at this, had she just witnessed her assistant come out to her. Yori had once again seemingly become comfortable with her surroundings. Only this she was even closer to Asami, and the distance between them was slowly decreasing. "Just let go of your inhibitions, and go with what your heart tells you."

The two women's faces were drawing nearer, almost to the point where their noses could touch. However, just as Yori was about to seal the deal Asami gently arched her neck back and said "There's someone else." This stopped Yori immediately in her tracks and she slowly pulled her head away with a look of confusion. Asami took a deep breathe, because she knew it was time to confess. "Today is our anniversary, and I was wanting to do something special with them after work."

"That's why you said no." The realization set in as Yori began to connect the dots in her mind, all of which were now making sense. "I understand." Her head dropped and unlike her previous reaction of anger, she became somber and simply frowned at her feet. "Just answer this. Do I know them?"

Asami could not see any reason to lie anymore, at least to the woman distraught in front of her. "Yes, you are familiar with them."

"It's Avatar Korra, isn't it?" There was a twinge of a pain behind the breathe that Yori spewed. She tried hard to hide it, but there was no mistake that it was there. Yori's head shot back up, and she wore a wide smile on her face. However, the smile appeared tragic as small water droplets streamed past the upward crease. "I'm happy for the both of you."

"Yori I..." Asami began to explain, but Yori had already turned away and quickly stepped to the door.

"Mam I need to get back to work. I'll let you know when I find the remaining pieces of your little pet project." With that she departed from the office leaving the entire room in silence.

Within the Sato estate Korra was now just beginning to wake. Her eyes were crusted, and every inch of her body felt sore. After several minutes of self motivation she was finally able to roll over and climb out of bed. The instant she stood up a sharp burning sensation emanated from her knee. Korra slightly winced at the discomfort, but it was not unmanageable. As she edged fa way from the bed, Korra noticed a small slip of paper with a small piece of writing tacked onto the door leading into the hallway. Korra pulled the not off and it read

_ "I'm sorry to leave you alone. Just remember to play nice."_

_Love, _

_Asami._

Korra didn't quite understand what the note was about, but she decided to not think too hard on it. She slowly limped downstairs being careful not inflame her wound. The whole mansion was quiet, none of the usual house hands were there, for all Korra knew she was only one in the house. However, when she reached the final step Korra heard a subtle grunt come forth from the living room. Considering what happened earlier that morning, Korra cautiously moved to the source of the noise. She was led into the kitchen where she came upon a young blonde haired searching through several cabinets and drawers. Getting within a few feet of the woman, Korra readied herself and yelled "What are you doing here?"

Reran nearly fell backwards from being startled. She was able to turn to see who she had been found off guard by, and when she caught sight of her a small grin appeared on Reran's face. "You're Avatar Korra, so you were the guest she was talking about."

"Yea, I am." Korra responded roughly, not backing down. "What I don't know is who you are and why you are rummaging through the kitchen."

Reran immediately put her hands up in defense. "Woah, back off a bit, I don't care if you are the Avatar, you don't get to come down on me like that." Korra's body slowly lost tension as she began to listen more closely. "Now to answer your question my name is Reran, Asami Sato knows me. I got in a little scrape, and she let me crash here for the night."

A brief glimpse of clarity filled Korra's mind. "So that's what that note meant." She then realized how much she messed up. "I'm so sorry for jumping on you. It's just last night we...Ms. Sato had an intruder that was trying to steal some personal documents of hers."

"Is that how you got that?" Reran pointed down at Korra's bandaged knee.

Korra lightly chuckled at being reminded of her brief act of stupidity. "Kind of, but this was caused by being reckless."

"Hey, you can't win any fights without taking some bumps and bruises" Reran joked with a smug grin. She then stuck her own leg out and began to pull up her pants sleeve revealing a gentle shade of purple that covered the entirety of her knee. "Mine is not as flashy as yours, but I'm definitely not walking right for the next few days."

"Do you pick fights a lot?" Korra inquired. She couldn't quite read this girl just yet. She seemed to be outwardly brash, but something told the young Avatat that this girl was at least willing to speak to her.

Reran simply shrugged. "Sometimes, but most of the time they pick me."

"Why is that?"

Suddenly Reran's face formed into a familiar reserved contortion. "You know what I don't remember agreeing to tell you my life story."

Korra was caught off guard by the immediate wall that was built in front of her, but she didn't falter. She remained calm and replied "I wasn't asking for it. I just figured we could pass the time by talking to one another, since we're probably not going to be going anywhere today due to our bum legs; especially considering we're most likely going to be each other's only company for awhile."

After the night she had, Reran honestly didn't have the energy to go through the same back and forth as she did with Mako. Besides, Korra was right. Reran wasn't going to go anywhere fast with her knee, so she might as well engage in a little conversation. It would at least be better than sitting in awkward silence. "Alright, I guess I've always been other people's target. Somehow I always find a way to piss them off."

A small grin appeared on Korra's face as she slowly began to tear the wall down. "Has it always been like that for you?" Korra tried to make sure she didn't get to intrusive, otherwise she'd only force Reran to lock up even further.

However, Reran didn't back down, even though she did appear to be slightly uncomfortable. "No, I used to have a pretty peaceful life. When I was growing up my brother used to take me on weekly trips down to the park and we'd play by the pond." At that moment almost unconsciously, a small smile formed on her face. "I remember I'd always ask him if we could go swimming, but every time I brought it up he would pat me on the head and say 'Reran, you don't even know how to swim, and even if you did you'd freak out the second a fish touched you.' I would then proceed to cry from the thought of touching those slimy gills."

The two girls then both proceeded to chuckle in unison at the story. "He sounds like a caring guy" Korra responded while pulling up a chair at one of the nearby kitchen counters and taking a seat.

"He was." Reran then seemed to peer off away from Korra as if she became lost in a thought or memory.

Korra picked up on this change, and again became concerned. "What happened to him?"

With that Reran looked back at Korra, and she smile she wore now had faded away. "You know I'd really like to not talk about this anymore." However, unlike before this came across as more of a request than an absolute rejection.

Korra could read into how sensitive of a subject this must be, so she decided to not press any further with it. At least not yet. "That's fine. How about you ask some questions about me. It's only fair."

Reran seemed to be genuinely surprised that Korra hadn't been turned away by her dismissive attitude yet. It was refreshing to not have someone constantly berating and criticizing her. "Okay, what's it like being the avatar?" Reran sounded halfhearted, but she actually did have a slight interest in Korra's life. Reran felt like she could play along with her for awhile as long as the conversation didn't gravitate towards anything personal about herself.

"Stressful" Korra bluntly blurted out. "Imagine everyone's eyes on you at all times, and every single move and breath you take is criticized. Not to mention the constant pressure of keeping both the physical and spiritual world's in balance at all times."

Reran was taken aback. From her point of view she assumed the Avatar would be wise and all powerful. But the more she talked with Korra the more Reran realized how ground she really was; also how much the two of them have in common. "Whoa, you must hate your life."

Korra chuckled to herself. "Actually it's quite the opposite. I may have all this responsibility, but somewhere throughout my twenty years of life I learned that I'm allowed to be a normal person as well."

Reran found herself not quite this reasoning. "You normal? I'm not so sure about that."

However, Korra only smiled more at the young girl's disbelief. "Well, look at me right now. I'm sitting here in my pajamas sharing small talk with someone I just met over a bowl of cereal. How can you get anymore mundane?"

"Maybe not being able to bend all the elements" Reran quipped back.

Korra couldn't help but cackle and nearly fall out of her seat "You might be onto something there, so go on ask the next question."

Reran didn't really know what ask, but there was something that was kind of puzzling her. "Umm, why were you staying over here."

Like that, a shiver ran up Korra's spine. She had no idea how to answer. She couldn't tell her the truth, but in the back of her head Korra also felt like she shouldn't lie either. "I...am...Asami's roommate."

"Roommate" Reran questioned puzzled.

"Well technically not a roommate considering this is kind of a mansion. But the reason I'm here is because Asami got lonely being in this big place by herself, and she asked me to come move in for awhile to help her feel more comfortable."

"Must be great to have rich friends" Reran joked.

"I would do it even if she wasn't rich" Korra lightly responded, while Reram shot her a doubtful glare. With roll of her eyes Korra grinned devilishly. "But I will admit, it is a nice perk." At this both woman busted out laughing.

The atmosphere of the situation had become calm, and Reran slowly for the first time in awhile grew comfortable. After brief moment of silence between the two of the, Reran took a deep breath and said "You can ask another question about me if you want."

Korra was taken aback. She didn't expect the young girl in front of her to ease back down, if at all. "Are you sure?"

Reran was quiet, she was almost not certain herself. But Korra had opened up to her, and although she could care less about being fair, Reran thought it would be wrong if she didn't return the favor at least a little bit. "Yea, just don't expect me to go into great detail okay. You seem nice enough, but you don't need to know everything about me. Is that understood."

Korra gave an understanding nod. "Completely." She pondered for a moment before asking "How old are you?"

"Nineteen." Reran answered unhesitatingly. "How long have you lived in Republic City" She asked back.

"I moved down here close to four years ago, but for three of those years I was at the South Pole recovering from an injury I suffered at the hands of a group called the Red Lotus."

"The Avatar can get hurt?" Once again Reran was given even more insight to how human Korra really was.

Korra's smile fell slightly as her head dipped down to stare at the floor. "More than you know." Her response seemed to be full of past anguish and painful memories. After a moment or two she brought her head back up with her gentle grin returned.

Reran attempted to act like she didn't notice what happened in front of her. "Okay go with your next question."

It didn't take Korra quite as long as before to come up with her next inquiry. "Alright, why did you have to stay over here last night? Don't get me wrong I'm glad to have someone to talk to, but I'm just curious what brought you over."

"A detective Mako saved me last night from some ignorant jerk who was trying to rough me up." Reran thought to herself that this probably was too much information, but she made no effort to hold back. "He found out that I had no place to stay. So he called up Sato, and asked her if I could stay over here."

"Do you normally not have a place to stay?" Korra's curiosity had now shifted to concern.

Reran's face then contorted frustratedly. "Hey wait a minute, you don't get to ask two questions in a row."

"You had a follow up about my injury" Korra argued. "Fair is fair."

Reran couldn't help but grind her teeth. "No, I don't. Typically I try and find a nice pile of garbage to lay on, or I look for something with a roof. Sometimes it's an abandoned building, other times it's an awning outside a local store that had closed for the night."

"How long have you been living like this?" Korra was no longer playing around. She was now completely serious and focused on the issue presented in front of her.

Reran was about to complain, but at the last second she bit her tongue and responded honestly. "About a year and a half."

At this Korra moved around the counters and stood face to face with Reran. "Well not anymore." She then grabbed the young woman's hand. "Until further notice you are going to be staying here."

With her jaw dropping Reran nearly fell backwards. "Wait, what? Are you allowed to do that? Isn't this Asami Sato's place."

"I'm more than certain I can make her see it my way." With a quick wink, Korra moved her hand to the young girl's shoulder. "Reran, you've obviously been given a rotten hand, but I'm not going to let you suffer anymore. Keep the bedroom you used last night. When Asami gets home later we'll go out and get you all the necessary living supplies."

Suddenly a deep feeling of emotion filled the inside of Reran's stomach. Without warning, even to herself, she wrapped her arms around Korra's neck. "Thank you, so much."

Although surprised by the sudden showing of appreciation, Korra quickly accepted it and wrapped her arms around Reran as well. "Don't mention it."

As the two girls embraced, Reran softly whispered in Korra's ear. "Ugh can I ask one more question?"

A light chuckle expelled from Korra. "Sure go ahead."

"Can I use the shower?"

Several passed within the day and at last the giant giant front doors to the main lobby opened up, and Asami walked in just now getting home from work. She had with her two large brown bags. "Korra I'm home" she called out. "I picked some groceries up, thought we could try cooking for our anniversary." While saying this Asam strolled into the kitchen expecting to see Korra, but instead is met by an intrigued Reran.

"You two have an anniversary?"Reran commented with a curious smile. The shower she had requested earlier in the day had done longer was she covered in dirt and grime. Her facial expressions were clearer than ever, and it showed in the way she was eyeing up Asami while sipping a drink from one of the cups out of the cupboard.

Not expecting for their guest to still be at her home, Asami had to quickly think of an excuse. "Umm yea, it's a friendship anniversary."

"Friendship anniversary?" Reran repeated jokingly.

Despite how thin of an explanation it was, Asami found it was better than nothing so she continued in with it. "Korra and I have been friends for four years now, and we wanted to celebrate it."

"You two are a lot weirder than I imagined" Reran said under her breath as she took another sip of her drink.

While mentally taking a sigh of relief, Asami proceeded into the kitchen and dropped the groceries onto the counter. "So, how are you feeling Reran? I would have thought you'd get up first thing this morning and leave."

"I almost did, but then Avatar Korra talked me into staying."

"Enough of the formalities. You can just call me Korra if you want." The young Avatar exclaimed now entering the kitchen herself.

A huge grin grew on Reran's face at this request. "Okay, Korra."

Asami looked back and forth between the two women confused. "Am I missing something here?"

Korra saw the bewilderment in Assmi's eyes, and felt bad for not explaining. So she approached her girlfriend, placed an arm around her shoulder, and said "No, it's just Reran and I have become pretty friendly with one another throughout the day."

"I see." Asami then leaned her head over and whispered into Korra's ear. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

This was where Korra got slightly uncomfortable, because she knew she had gone over Asami's head. "I kind of told her that she can stay indefinitely with us for awhile."

"Is she now?" Asami tried to not show the amount of stress that she just felt stack onto her shoulders along with everything else happening.

Korra noticed it however, and she tried to reassure her."Yes, at least until we can find her a proper job and get her into a proper living situation."

Asami exhaled, this time out load "Is that something you can handle" she asked while turning over to Reran

Slightly offended Reran shot back. "What, do you think I'm some bum who's afraid of working for their keep?"

"That's not what I meant." Asami said while slightly smirking at the brash attitude being demonstrated by the young girl. "What I was trying to ask was , are you sure you want to live with us."

Reran briefly glanced over at Korra and then back at Asami. "Yea, I'm sure."

"Good, than if your going to be living here you're going to have to, as you say, earn your keep; starting with you helping me make dinner"

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, thank you once again for reading yet another chapter. I apologize for the longer wait than usual. That was a combination of work and writers block. At least on how to present this chapter. So please leave a review or send me a PM if you feel the urge. I really enjoy reading them and talking about my story and the ideas behind it. Until next time.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

"Hurry up Reran we're going to be late." Korra called out from the doorway of one of the guest rooms within the Sato estate.

Reran was standing in front of a mirror staring begrudgingly and confused at a makeup kit that looked like it had hardly ever been touched before. "Give me a minute, I'm not used to doing all this prep work." The young girl had been staying with Korra and Asami for a little over a two months now, and by this point she was quite familiar with them. At least in the manner where she felt comfortable wearing their clothes.

"Hey I'm with you, I hate wearing gowns, but Asami said if we want to go we have to look presentable." Korra said this while reluctantly sporting an elegant light violet dress that lined near perfectly with her form., also her hair was put up into a nice collected bun. During the two month period a majority of it had grown back out to near shoulder length. Part of her wanted to cut it back again, but a combination of time constraints and pure laziness kept her from doing so.

Still looking at herself in the mirror Reran gave a soft scoff and folded her arms. "It's not like we're getting up on stage or anything. No one's gonna care if we're wearing makeup or not."

At this point Korra moved into the room, and stepped beside her. "Reran I hear you but the thing is Asami asked us to do this, and as gracious guests within her home we owe it to her."

Reran looked over at Korra and gave a reluctant sigh. "Alright, but do I have to wear this stupid outfit?"She then started to tug and pull on a long red dress she was wearing

Taking a moment to examine the young girl up and down Korra remarked "What's wrong with the dress? You look beautiful."

"Well I feel uncomfortable." The dress was a bright red of a modest length falling midway to her calf, however, it seemed to be slightly too tight. Reran continued to pull on the dress in anyway she could in order to breathe. "The whole thing feels constricting on my body. I can barely even move my legs."

Korra's jaw dropped as she shot a strong glare at the young woman "We offered to take you shopping."

However, Reran argued back with her. "And be even more in your guy's debt, no thank you."

"You wouldn't be in our debt. It's just something nice to do for a friend,"

Reran still did not let up as she sarcastically chuckled to herself. "If she really wanted be a friend, she'd let me wear pants."

At this point Korra felt like she had heard enough. "Alright hold still." She then proceeded to get down on her knees right beside Reran. "You and I are about to get a little personal." With that Korra took a tight grasp onto the bottom of the dress, and began to tear a slit up the side of Reran's leg.

Unsurprisingly the young woman was taken aback by the sudden action, and also the slight breeze that was newly introduced. "Woah, are you sure about ripping up Asami's dress?"

"If the boss has a problem with it, then I'm more than happy to take the punishment." There was a slim touch of cot to Korra's voice, something she was more than positive Reran wouldn't get. "You need to look good, but that isn't going to make a difference if you can't move." As Korra tore further up the leg she noticed a familiar pair of garment being worn underneath the dress. "Is that my..." Korra stopped herself mid-sentence because she honestly didn't want to know the answer. After a moment of flushing out the seams, Korra stood up and and smiled. "Better?"

Reran cautiously swiveled her legs, checking for any stiffness before she returned the smile. "Actually, yea."

Before backing away, Korra caught sight of some fresh bruising on the side of Reran's leg. "How did you get that one?" By the tone of her voice it showed that she wasn't surprised, and that this was not the first time she had discovered one of Reran's signature keepsakes.

The young girl did not pay Korra's question with too much mind. Reran dryly replied. "I went out one day just walking around town, when some guy whistled up at me. I responded accordingly."

"I assume in your usual sweet way." A heavy air of sarcasm was felt through this statement.

However, Reran continued to show no concern. "Exactly, and he obviously didn't take kind to that so I got a good knock around. It was actually pretty pleasing compared to what I'm used to. He only kicked me in the stomach six times."

At this Korra gave a deep exhale. "Reran..."

"Korra I don't want to hear it." Reran put a hand in Korra's face and attempted to walk away

However, Korra was not going to be ignored and followed behind her. "Come on let me just show you a few moves. I know I can't convince you to cut back on your straight forward attitude, because that's who you are. But I need to know that you can defend yourself out there."

Suddenly Reran stopped in the middle of the room and looked back at her. "You know it's not a matter of having the ability to fight, it's that I refuse to do so."

"And you've yet to tell me why" Korra continued to argue. "Reran I get that you have personal beliefs, but I don't like having to clean up your wounds when I can instead teach you how to avoid getting them in the first place."

With one last annoyed glare, Reran turned her back once again to Korra. "Didn't you say we're going to be late."

Korra knew she wasn't going to gain any new ground. "This isn't over." With that the young women made their final touches and made their way out.

Within a private room inside City Hall, Asami sat anxiously on a couch waiting for it to be time. Suddenly the door opened and Yori stuck her head through. "Ms. Sato they're ready for you." The two women had not spoken much since their incident in Asami's office. Several times the young CEO attempted to approach her, but each time the proper words would not come to mind and she would choke. Asami got up from her seat and followed her assistant out into the hallway. No words were spoken, the only sound heard was of their footsteps and the dull roar ahead of them. They soon came upon a pair of giant double doors, which Yori stopped in front of and gestured for Asami to go through. As the young CEO placed a palm to the stone framing of the door she found enough strength to look over at Yori and say "I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't keep the people waiting too long Ms. Sato, many of them came to see you." There was a small creak at the edge of Yori's mouth, almost unnoticeable, but Asami caught it and it filled her with a small measure of relief.

Giving a nod of understanding Asami pushed open the door and walked through. As she made her way outside she was greeted by a barrage of flashing lights. Asami was used to being in front of camera flashes, but never to this scale. She steeped outside to the front of the Capital Building where she was met with a sea of people staring up at her. A few feet ahead of her was an empty podium waiting for her, and just a little bit to the left was another podium which was filled by her political opponent President Raiko.

With one last deep breathe, she took her position and watched as a well dressed gentleman carrying several papers walked over to a third podium which faced them. Leaning over to a large microphone the man spoke out. "Welcome candidates to the first Republic City Presidential debate. How are you both feeling this afternoon?"

Asami answered first. "I'm doing well, thank you for asking."

She was then followed by Raiko. "Delighted to be here."

The moderator gave a gentle nod to the both of there before he looked down and began to read several questions from his note cards. Each one had something to do with the economic and political landscape of Republic City and what the two candidates planned to accommodate these needs. Sometimes the questions would be for the both of them while others were individualized. This back and forth went on for close to an hour. By this point the moderator had come to his final two cards. "We are now going to enter into final questions. The first one will be for President Raiko. Throughout your term you've held a steadfast stance on keeping Republic City safe, however, your opponent has brought up concerns towards the policy you plan to implement after reconstruction has finished around the newly formed spirit portal. Some of these plans include mandatory indemnification checks, search and possible seizures of items being carried by citizens, and at worst denial of entry into the spirit world. What the public wishes to know is, can you provide reasoning behind some of these procedures?"

"Absolutely, I love to put the citizens' minds at rest." There was a smooth smugness to the way Raiko spoke that slid like grease. In private he may be cold and conniving, but he knew how to turn on a personality for a crowd. "The key here is security. That's all it is. It has become apparent in the last few years that this city is at constant major risk of destruction by several forces. We've had invasions, take overs, even a giant spirit creature. My plan for the Spirit Portal is only a precaution in order to maintain safety for the city and all of its inhabitants."

A smattering of applause followed Raiko's statement with several hoots and hollers spread throughout. The moderator grinned brightly once again nodding his head. "Thank you President Raiko, next question for you Ms. Sato. You have run a multi-billion yeni company for a decent amount of time now, a feat that not many are able to accomplish. However, you have very little political experience, something believed to be a bit of a hindrance to your campaign. How does your position as the head of a engineering company qualify you to lead this nation?"

Asami expected an inquiry like this to come up, however, it did seem odd that it was the last one of the debate. Regardless Asami was ready for it. "To answer your question, it doesn't. What qualifies me for the presidency of The United Republic of Nations is that I am a citizen within it. My job at Future Industries is only my occupation. True in the past it has given me the resources necessary to make a positive impact on Republic City, but it is only a tool used to further my belief that the place I live in deserves all the freedoms that we can provide. I understand that in the past my family hasn't always had Republic City's best interest in mind, however, I assure you that my intentions are honorable and I will govern this office with the utmost respect."

"Huh" Raiko scoffed directly into the mic.

This irritated Asami greatly, but she couldn't show it; not here. So with the most professional voice she could muster she asked "Is something the matter President Raiko?"

"You talk about being honorable, and yet you haven't been entirely honest with the citizens have you?"

Asami eyebrows crunched up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Raiko gave a subtle wink at the young CEO and continued with his rant. "I mean, you've completely hidden away an entire part of your life. Instead of sharing it with the world."

In that instant a chill crawled up Asami's spine, she knew exactly what he was implying. She wanted to respond, but the inside of her throat became so shaky she could not speak.

"You accuse me of being dishonest, but yet you won't tell them this basic truth about yourself." Raiko turned to his opponent and the look on his face read that he knew he had Asami trapped. "Well if you won't, I shall." He brought his attention back to the crowd, leaned in close to the microphone, and loudly declared. "Asami Sato is in fact homosexual." A loud uproar bursted from the attendance. It was as though an explosion had blasted in front of them and everyone went into a panic. Raiko took notice of this and added more fuel to the fire. "I have sources that confirm this to be true, and that she has gone to several lengths to keep this hidden from all of you."

Out in the middle of the audience stood Bolin, Opal, Mako, Reran, Tenzin, and the rest of his family both shocked and confused at what just happened. But none more were as taken aback as the woman in the center of them who was now watching the person she loved be torn apart in front of her. "Korra, is that true?" the familiar voice of Reran rung in her ear.

The crowd at this point had become intensely rowdy. Some members were chattering with each other about the validity of Raiko's claim, while others simply shouted profane insults at the stage.

The moderator looked around at the proceedings, and with a nervous tone spoke out "Due to the change in atmosphere I believe we will end this session now. We shall meet again at the next debate."

Taking notice of the growing tension himself Mako turned to Korra and stated "We need to go."

Reran, however, was the one who answered. "We can't leave her, not after that." There was a genuine sound of concern to her voice that until now had hardly ever been seen.

"The last thing she needs is people crowding around her" Mako tried to argue.

"We also can't let her be caught in the middle of this chaos." Korra finally spoke up. She showed no visible emotion, just a solid front of determination. "Let's go get her." The three of them left the group and maneuvered the best they could through the mass of people towards the capital. Korra lead them to a side entrance she knew would get them inside and where they needed to go. Keeping a steady pace they made their way through several hallways until they turned a corner to find Asami curled against the wall balling. Without a second thought Korra kneeled down in front of her and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Almost instinctually Asami buried her face into Korra's shoulder, which only aided to muffle the crying. In response Korra soothingly rubbed her hand on Asami's back. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here now. I've got you."

"How the hell did he find out about you two" Reran bluntly asked walking up to them.

Asami glanced up at her in slight confusion, tears still slowly dripping from her cheeks and a choke to her voice. "Wait, Reran did you already know?"

Reran chuckled to herself. "Are you serious? I've been living with you for two months, did you not think I would figure it out. I'd hear Korra sneak into your bedroom nearly every night."

Korra looked up at her somewhat embarrassed. "Reran, we're sorry we didn't tell you about us. It's just.."

"You don't know me that well yet" Reran cut off. "Listen I may be a pain in the ass, but I understand when I'm not owed information. Besides it wouldn't have mattered if I knew or not, it wouldn't have changed the way I felt about you two."

Asami sniffled a little bit and smiled brightly up at her. "Really, you mean that?"

"Of course, you gave me a home and didn't ask for anything in return."

At that point Mako walked up beside the young girl and said "Ugh Reran, is there something you want to tell Korra and Asami?"

She looked back at him confused. "I already told them that I appreciate what they've done for me. What else is there to say?"

"Yes, but is there anything about yourself that you want to confess." He seemed pushy, as if he believed it to be obvious.

This only served to frustrate Reran more. "What are you taking about?"

"Well you know, your own sexual orientation."

A deep silence them took hold as each member of the current party were suddenly taken aback. After a brief moment of processing Korra spoke up. "Wait, Reran is Mako saying your..."

"Yea he is, but there's just one problem with that." Reran then immediately got right up into Mako's face and angrily declared "I'm not." Not taking her eyes away from him Reran called back to the women on the floor. "Although I have no problem with you guys, I actually still prefer the warm touch of a man."

Mako was now really uncomfortable, and he didn't know quite what to do. So he said the first thing that came to mind. "Well technically they can go either..."

"Where do you get off" Reran interrupted. "You see one guy beating down on me calling me gay trash and you automatically think that I am."

It had become apparent to Mako that he really offended, even though that was not his intention. "I didn't think you were trash. It's just he said you were coming onto his girlfriend..."

"And you never stopped to think that I might not have actually done it" she cut off again.

"Reran, I..." Mako was at a loss for words. Anything he said could potentially set her off. Regardless, in a split second he felt the sharp sting of a hand sliding against his face, however, it was not from the who Mako expected. He stared now at the icy eyes of Korra. "What was that for?"

The young Avatar looked at him dead in the eye. "She wasn't going to do it, so I had to. Mako there's a lot more to tolerance than being okay with someone being a certain way." No longer wanting to be apart of that conversation, Reran walked back over to Asami to comfort her. "You have to actually put in the effort to understand them, and the first thing is to learn to not assume someone else's orientation, especially if they haven't told you explicitly yet. Reran was able to puzzle it together after living with us, but she still didn't mention it until it was actually confirmed for her a moment ago."

Although he understood most of it, something still puzzled Mako. "But she's actually straight."

"Even if she wasn't it's not your place to out someone like that. Take a look over there." Korra then pointed over to Asami with Reran's arm wrapped around her. "That's the result of someone being forced out of the closet when they were not ready. If you had been right we might have had two girls to console tonight."

Staring down at the two women, Mako felt a small measure of shame. "I'm sorry Korra, I didn't realize."

Korra sort of shrugged at this, and turned back to Reran and Asami. "Don't apologize to me." Without saying another word Korra walked over to the women and assisted Reran in helping Asami to her feet. They then slowly made their way towards the exit, leaving Mako standing by himself in the hallway to contemplate.

A short time later, back at the Sato Estate, Korra helped Asami take a relaxing bath, get changed into comfortable clothes, and tucked into bed. She was still shaken up by what happened, and the moment her head hit the the pillow she asked "Korra what are we going to do?"

Korra didn't really know what to tell her. All she knew was that her girlfriend just had one of the worst days of her life, and she needed some comfort in this time of distress. So she simply placed a kiss on Asami's forehead and said "You don't worry about that right now, you just get some rest sweetheart."

Korra finished tucking her girlfriend in, quietly left the bedroom, and with a deep exhale slid down against the back wall. Reran happened to be walking by to see Korra collapse, so she decided go over and comfort her "Hey, it's going to be alright."

With that her walls finally collapsed as tears broke free from Korra's eyes. "No it's not. We could handle one person at a time, but everyone at once. I mean we said we'd publicly come out eventually, but we're not ready yet."

Reran let out a sigh of her own and took a seat right next to Korra on the wall. "That's one of the sad things about life, it rarely waits for you to be ready."

The outside of Korra's fist began to clench, as she stared frustratingly at the floor. "Every part of me wants to go out and tear into Raiko, but that's not practical. I'd only be hurting our cause."

Reran could see the pain she was going through, and a small piece of her wanted to do something to make her feel better. However, Reran knew all too well that the emotions Korra was feeling, wouldn't be quenched easily. There was only one thing she could think of that might help, but Reran was not excited to talk about it in the slightest. "You want to know why I don't fight?"

This seemed to break Korra from her daze slightly, as she cracked a somewhat distracted grin. "Yea I'd like to. Is it mostly because you don't believe in it?"

"Hell no" Reran spat out proudly. "There's no sense of morality holding me back from knocking someone's teeth down their throat."

"Really" Korra questioned unconvinced her smile slowly growing wider as her stressful thoughts were being deferred. "Then what does hold you back?"

That was when Reran became quiet, and she also stared out into space. "My brother's name was Yomo. He was about 8 years older than me, and he'd love to take me on adventures." At the mention of her brother Korra's attention suddenly switched fully to Reran. "You see our parents weren't really involved with us, so we had a lot of time and opportunity to explore the city. We'd walk through the underground tunnels, sneak into probending matches, and sometimes we'd have calm days where we'd..."

Korra softly interrupted. "Go to the lake?"

This made Reran slip with yet another one of her rare smiles. "Yea." However, just as quickly as the smile appeared it also disappeared as Rerwn now faced the wall in front of her. "Close to four years ago me and Yomo we're walking through the streets, when suddenly we were jumped by a group of guys." Reran's head lowered. "Yomo yelled for me to run. He said he'd be right behind me." Suddenly droplets began to sprinkle the floor beneath her head. "I could have fought them, I could have done something. But I was too afraid." A loud smack was heard as Reran smashed her fist into the stone floor, in turn making her knuckles irritated and red. "I found him in a pool of blood, already gone."

Suddenly the young girls was wrapped in a tight embrace by Korra. "Reran it was not your fault. There's no way you could have prevented that from happening."

The light touch of of Korra's arms filled Reran with a subtle feeling of warmth, but it seemed her mind was still focused on her past. "I know there was nothing that could be done, but ever since that day I freeze with fear at the mere thought of fighting. Every time someone touches me the wrong way I want to break their nose, every time someone calls me out I want to show them up, but each time something like that happens all I see is the flashes of my brother in the middle of the street." She then glanced over with still tear filled eyes. "Don't be like me Korra, you don't have to take all the abuse."

Korra halfheartedly smiled at her, and have an understanding nod. "I don't plan on it. But for right now this has become way too big for me to handle, and frankly I'm not even in the right mindset to do anything. So for now I just want to hold back and lick my wounds." Not saying another word Korra rose to her feet and slowly shuffled down the hall. She was obviously exhausted, not only from the events of that day, but from all of the stress this secret about Asami and herself brought. Reran saw how tired she was, and although she understood why Korra couldn't retaliate, that didn't mean Reran wouldn't.

Author's Notes: Well looks like you know what has hit the fan. Thank you all for reading. This was a bit of a slower update, but I promise the wheels are turning. Feel free to review or PM me for any comments, questions, or concerns. I'll see you all in the next chapter.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA, LOK, nor any of their characters or likeness. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Please forgive my choppy writing.**

Dead silence filled the Sato estate as almost all the lights were out, except for one small lamp that sat beside Korra who was fast asleep on the couch. The stress of the preceding day had drained a majority of her energy and it showed. The dress she has worn the day before was thrown haphazardly on the floor, and Korra laid wearing a white tank top and long beige bottoms. A small shutter of creaking floor permeated through the living area as Asami slowly stepped in front of the couch and tapped on Korra's shoulder. She did not have to prod much before Kprra was thrusted from her sleep with hands up ready to fight. Once she saw who was standing in front of her she immediately calmed down. "Asami what are you doing out of bed?"

"I woke up and saw you weren't there." There was scratchiness to her voice, as though she had spent the last few hours. Like Korra she also wore beige pants, but instead of a tank top Asami had on a long-sleeve red shirt. She ruffled one of her cuffs and asked. "What are you doing out here?"

Korra lightly wiped the sleep from eyes with her forearm. "I was wanting to let you get some rest, so I came downstairs to give you some quiet."

Asami smiled and slowly crawled onto the couch curling up next to Korra. "I appreciate that, but I don't think I'm going to get any rest without you."

"What can I do for you?" Korra asked still looking concerned for her girlfriend's wellbeing.

A small sniffle from her nose, Asami looked over to her. "Just hold me." She then collapsed into the side of Korra with a slight sniffle.

Korra happily obliged, wrapping both her arms around Asami and quietly whispering. "I'll never let go."

The two laid together for sever minutes, enjoying both the quiet and the warm embrace of one another. Suddenly Asami rolled over, now staring into space, and with a soft whimper to her voice she said "You may have to stay with Tenzin and his family for a little while." At this Korra fully awoke as she listened closely to what Asami was saying. "People may begin to talk, and just because I've been outed doesn't mean you need to be."

Small droplets of liquid began to sprinkle the hand Korra had underneath Asami's chin. Korra knew she had to resolve this here now, so she took ahold of Asami's shoulders and sat her up to be able to look her straight in the eye "Hey, listen to me. You and I are in this together. If one of us goes down, we both do. Besides, there is no way I'm leaving you behind, not at a time like this."

Asami did not immediately reply, she simply gazed into her girlfriend's caring eyes through her own tear filled ones. All she could mutter was "Korra?"

"Yea Asami" Korra gently asked leaning in to listen closely.

"What the hell do you see in me" Asami blurted. She normally would have been embarrassed to be so blunt, but her emotions were running so high that she truly did not care. "I know why we were friends, but what made you want to actually be with me?"

Korra lightly chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Well to begin with your a genius, or at least leaps and bounds smarter than me." Asami attempted to speak, but Korra continued on. "Next it doesn't hurt that you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Not one of the most beautiful, but the most beautiful." A small smirk grew on Asami's face at this. Korra then took ahold of Asami's hand, and began to rub her thumb softly against it. "Lastly, you never gave up on me, even when it felt like I had given up on myself. You've always been there for me. That's why I fell in love with you."

After hearing all of this, Asami could only stare into Korra's eyes; admiring them and in a sense getting lost within their own beauty. Asami still could not wrap her mind around it. But if this woman sitting in front of her truly cared as much as she said she did, then Asami knew what she had to do. "Wait right here." With that Asami jumped off the couch ran out of the room. After several minutes she came back with something behind her back. "I wasn't planning on giving you this so early, but considering the circumstances I think this is as good of a time as any."

Korra attempted to lean and try to glance around her to see what she was holding "Asami you got me a present?"

"You can say that." She slightly blushed as she pulled a tiny box in front of her and handed it off.

Korra happily accepted the gift. "This is cool, it even has a tiny blue ribbon."

"Why don't you open it" Asami gestured to her trying to hide a creeping smile.

With a gentle nod Korra began to pull the blue strings apart from the box. She had not yet noticed the subtle shaking of Asami's as she slowly removed the lid. Once Korra got a glance inside her jaw instantly dropped as she saw the neatly placed betrothal necklace lying comfortably in the small container. "Is this what I think it is?"

In that moment Asami got to her knees and grasped onto Korra's hand. "Korra I love you more than words can convey. You have not only treated me as your friend, but also as your equal. You make me feel like I'm more than my name. I thought I had everything, but I was wrong." Tears slowly began to break from Asami's eyes. "I didn't realize how incomplete my life was until you entered it. I know things are going to get hard, spirits know I want to keep you away from any of it, but that's not me being true to what I really want. I want to be with you, the thought of ever not having you by my side is unimaginable. Which is why I'm asking if you would like to stay by my side for the rest of our lives.

This whole time Korra had been listening and staring intently on Asami and what she saying. As she finished Korra leaned forward with a choked voice and asked "Asami are you saying..." She could not finish the question, Korra had so many emotions swirling in her chest that she could not mutter another word.

Asami noticed this, so to put her girlfriend's mind at rest she squeezed her hand, showed her a huge grin, and asked the important question. "Korra, will you marry me?"

With that Korra bursted into tears herself and wrapped her arms around Asami's neck. "Yes. Of course I will." Pulling back she then leaned in with a kiss, she did not dare break way. Korra wanted to live in this moment for as long as she could. Asami appeared to feel the same way, because she made no effort of pulling away either, she simply grasped onto the small of Korra's back to ensure there was no chance of her flying away. When the two finally did part, Korra placed her forehead against Asami's and lovingly whispered "You're all I want, and all I'll ever need."

On the other end of town two figures were sneaking through the darkness around the Republic City Capital. Mako peeked around one of the nearby alleys trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. "Alright this is the place. Now Reran, can you please tell me why we're here."

Reran was standing a short observing him, and putting a pair of black gloves. "Asami was set up today, and we need to find out how."

Mako glanced back at her with a devilish grin on his face. "Well look at you being proactive, I didn't realize you cared."

The young girl did not appear amused as she started to walk towards him. "I really don't need your snark right now."

Mako held up his hands in protest. "No you misunderstand. I just think it's great you want to help out Asami."

Still not giving him much care, she slowly moved past him to stare at the giant building in the distance. "Well as I said before I owe it to her." There was a quiet determination in her eyes. Reran knew she needed to do something and this was it.

After a brief silence Mako spoke up again, however he now sounded more solemn. "Hey listen, I'm sorry about before. I wasn't trying to be insensitive. It's just..."

"Are you really doing this right now?" Reran snapped back with slight annoyance.

"I'll be quick, I just want to get it off my chest" Mako protested. "I'm new to this stuff. I don't know what's the right thing to say, what's the wrong thing to say..."

"I'm gonna stop you right there" Reran interrupted. "I don't know what Korra said, but you do not have to apologize to me. In fact I'd prefer if you didn't."

Mako looked down at her confused. "But I thought you were upset with me."

"Oh I am, but not because of what you said. I could care less if you thought I was gay. I'm comfortable with who I am and nobody's opinion of me is going to change that."

Still uncertain Mako asked "Than why are you mad at me?"

"Because you thought that was the best thing to tell Asami in order to cheer her up. That's like saying I'm sorry you broke your leg, but don't worry she's got a broken arm." Now beginning to understand Mako looked ashamed. Reran noticed this and she felt slightly bad for coming down on him so hard. Even she understood that ignorance is not stupidity. "Listen If it'll make you feel better I'll accept your apology, but I need you to focus up now and help me."

Mako forced a subtle grin, and gave a thumbs up. "You got it. So what's the plan." Reran then grinned devilishly.

Several minutes later Mako slowly escorted Reran towards the entrance of the building with a firm grip around her arm. As they walked in two security officials, whom sat a huge desk in the center of the lobby, were there to greet them. Both of them seemed confused and suspicious of the two individuals that were visiting the capital at night. "Can I help you sir" One of them called out.

Mako nodded furiously up at them, and flashed his detective badge. "Yea, can you tell me if you know this girl?" He then thrusted Reran forward who looked visibly upset with being so roughly treated.

The guards looked her up and down, before glancing at each other, and going back to Mako. "No, we are not familiar with her."

"Well I just found her sneaking around outside. She says she works here."

Reran spun around on Mako and scowled. "I didn't say I work here. I said I worked at here. I am one of President Raiko a political analysts, and I was at the debate this afternoon. I left some paperwork in our green room and I was trying to see if I could come by and pick it up."

Mako put his hands on his hips. "If that's the case than why were you sneaking around outside?"

Reran with equal intensity continued to argue. "That door was locked so I tried walking looking for another way in. Look none of this matters, if you'll just let me go back to the room I'll be in and out in no time."

One of the guards finally spoke up. "I don't think we can really allow that."

Mako held up a hand to them. "I can escort her if you want. I'll make sure she's not up to anything."

After a moment of consideration the guards both nod. "Thank you detective. We appreciate that."

With any further conflict, both Mako and Reran made their way down the halls of the Republic City Capital Building. "That was a real clever idea on how to get in here" Mako said once they got out of earshot of the guards.

Reran couldn't help but feel a grin grow across her face at the compliment. "You're always underestimating me." She lightly joked with him.

However, Mako didn't pick up on the humor. "No, that was just a simple compliment" He tried to quip back.

Reran simply rolled her eyes at his cluelessness "Whatever you say officer due right." The two at last come across a room that had a plaque right beside the door that read out Raiko's full name. "This is it." Reran pulls out a small metal pin from inside her pants pocket. With very little trouble she was able to manipulate the tumblers and pick the door lock. "Mr. President you should really secure your office better, who knows what kind of trouble you'll let in." Reran and Mako made their way into the room , opening several filing cabinets and drawers, looking for any clues that might tell them where Raiko was getting his information. As Reran sat at his desk turning over the last yellow envelope that she found in one of the drawers, she noticed a small white mailing mailing envelope sticking out of a stack of papers. Reran slowly pulled it out from the pile and noticed that it had been opened. Luckily for her the letter was still inside, she removed the small paper and began to read. It was difficult to make out in the day light, so she had to squint. Slowly as she moved her back and forth down the page they began to widen at the contents. "What? This can't be right." She stuffed the letter deep in her pocket, jumped up from her seat, and called out to Mako "We have to go see Asami right now."

"Now why would you want to do that." Both Mako and Reran a grinning President standing in the doorway.

Author's Notes: Hello I know this took a big chunk of time, and frankly I don't have much of an excuse other than work has been busy. But like I said before I'm not dropping this story. I have an ending in mind and I intend to reach it.


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